as in shambles
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cock-up
Noun
-
Of course this was a calculated power play, not a bureaucratic botch.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026 -
During last week's WWE SmackDown, a series of mistakes and botches drew harsh criticism from fans.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Becerra blunder The first ad that grabbed my attention was a quick-turn by San José Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan (still stuck in single-digit polling numbers), who jumped on Xavier Becerra’s first major mess-up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
-
That way, the bristles can cling to your skincare products instead of dripping into the brush’s base and making a mess.—
Katie Decker-Jacoby,
StyleCaster,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The fiasco played out for days and led to in-depth reviews at both the BBC and BAFTA.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
8 May 2026
-
But that doesn’t mean the Terry Rozier fiasco can’t have the NBA rig the lotto hopper.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Far from Hegseth’s predictions of a quick, decisive win, the Iran war has now drifted into a costly, indeterminate muddle.—
Michael Scherer,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Now, researchers plan to extend their investigations to nearby early settlement sites to determine if Culasawani is a midden or muddle.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Boeing has reached confidential pre-trial settlements in most of the dozens of wrongful death lawsuits filed in connection with the Ethiopian Airlines disaster and a similar 737 Max crash five months earlier off the coast of Indonesia that together killed 346 people.—
Rio Yamat,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
-
But the 48-year-old former San Francisco County supervisor’s solution — a single-payer-style public disaster insurance program — is poorly defined and presents an enormous risk for a state struggling with chronic deficits.—
Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
So this summer — about a year after that legal debacle — Miami voters will get the chance to decide.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2026
-
Eisenhower, for example, worries about the safety of his troops in Normandy after Operation Tiger, a rehearsal for D-Day that turned into a tragic debacle that cost men’s lives.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Cock-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cock-up. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
