as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
when she was told her information was wrong, she apologized for the flub and immediately corrected it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
added too much flour and flubbed the gravy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stumble
to make a mistake
at some point in your training you're going to flub, so don't let it rattle you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of flub
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Character animations are slick, but reliable in their control and inertia — rarely leading to flubs caused by anything other than player error.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
David Jiricek made what could have been a costly turnover in his own zone in the first period, flubbing a touch-pass into his own slot, but Robert Thomas couldn’t convert as Gustavsson steered him aside.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flub
Noun
Bahr sees this as being connected to policy flubs and misdirection.
—Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Character animations are slick, but reliable in their control and inertia — rarely leading to flubs caused by anything other than player error.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Verb
The comedian eventually flubbed a line and broke into laughter while performing the sketch on live TV.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
David Jiricek made what could have been a costly turnover in his own zone in the first period, flubbing a touch-pass into his own slot, but Robert Thomas couldn’t convert as Gustavsson steered him aside.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flub
Noun
-
In a game in which little went right on offense, Rodgers’ two costliest mistakes led directly to Chargers points.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
-
An undisclosed person or company was using that form with his name, said Asnani, who framed the issue as a likely mistake and emphasized he was not involved in any Missouri campaigns.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Missouri couldn’t win on third down The Zollers fumble on third-and-10 summed up this area.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
-
While trying to stop the clock with only seconds remaining, Eastern Washington quarterback Jake Schakel fumbled the ball on a spike attempt with his team at the Montana 5-yard line.—
Alex Valdes,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Although the discovery has only now been formally studied, cavers from the Czech Speleological Society first stumbled upon the phenomenon in 2022 during an expedition in Vromoner Canyon.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Uber reported strong growth in its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, but stumbled on the bottom line after absorbing a $479 million charge for what the company described as undisclosed legal and regulatory matters.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Reminded of a financial blunder?—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The series had so many moments — center fielders trucking left fielders, base-running blunders, walk offs, extra-innings games.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Straight line winds can blow down trees, power lines, and damage mobile homes and other buildings.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The Buffalo Bills were left stunned in Miami on Sunday afternoon as the Dolphins blew them out 30-13 in a crucial AFC East rivalry game.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
This and that ▪ Dolphins rookie running back Ollie Gordon II was contrite about lashing out at running backs coach Eric Studesville in a heated exchange after Gordon was called for a tripping penalty against Baltimore.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
To learn more about some of the region’s wild food offerings, trip out to Mushroom Mountain in nearby Easley.—
Nevin Martell,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
That does leave retailers less margin for error and requires a better mastery of data analytics to improve demand forecasting—making sure that what is on offer matches what shoppers want.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Kelly did not disclose what structural engineering issues the building had, but said that the company's structural engineering firm informed Amazon of its error in a statement without elaborating.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Joe Biden’s seemed to end in August, 2021, when he was perceived as having botched the withdrawal from Afghanistan.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The team had botched an end-of-half sequence with McCarthy throwing the ball away for an incompletion, rather than taking the sack to run the clock.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flub. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share