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
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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
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Recent Examples of flub
Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 4 Aug. 2024
This time, the difference was having only 24 outs to work with at the plate rather than 27 due to their flubs on the bases.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025
Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
With so many movie and TV stars being thrown into a sketch cold, too many opening lines were flubbed, and a handful of punchlines were fumbled.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flub
Noun
This wasn’t always a contest of the best technical level, with a few flubs and lazily errant returns on important points.
—Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 4 Aug. 2024
This time, the difference was having only 24 outs to work with at the plate rather than 27 due to their flubs on the bases.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025
Verb
Pop star Fergie, an actual professional singer, flubbed it.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
With so many movie and TV stars being thrown into a sketch cold, too many opening lines were flubbed, and a handful of punchlines were fumbled.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flub
Noun
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Justice Department lawyers contend FBI agents acted in good faith despite the mistake and shouldn't be second-guessed by the courts.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
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Maybe everything that follows is a cascade of mistakes stemming from this decision.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Later in the first period, Theodore fumbled the puck into the skates of his teammate, Hertl, on their way out of the defensive zone, and Foligno added to Minnesota’s lead.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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Every moment spent fumbling with gear in those temperatures came at a cost—to fingers, batteries, and hard drives alike.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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How did the world’s two largest economies stumble toward a trade war that neither truly seeks and which the rest of the world can’t afford?—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Apr. 2025
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In 1857, Sam stumbled into the job that would shape his identity.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But the team with the biggest quarterback blunder from 2018 was the Arizona Cardinals, who made the decision to trade up to the No. 10 pick to take Josh Rosen.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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This week’s White House Report Card could have been a bad one, considering court rulings against President Donald Trump, staffing blunders, and a lack of movement on his tariff war that is starting to scare his supporters.—
Paul Bedard,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Vindman and his twin brother, Alex, both blew the whistle on Trump’s attempt to withhold military aid to Ukraine while pressuring the country’s leader to investigate the family of President Joe Biden.—
Andy Kroll,
ProPublica,
28 Apr. 2025
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What’s the dish that’s most likely to blow a skeptical traveler’s mind?—
David Hochman,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Declan Rice tripped him from behind to earn a yellow card.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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For the listener, the journey is both thrilling and desultory, like hanging out sober while your friend trips on mushrooms.—
Carrie Brownstein,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Graham Pauley singled and advanced to third when a fielder’s choice turned into a throwing error on Bohm.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
20 Apr. 2025
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Kyren Paris reached on an error by Matt Chapman at third, with Chapman cutting in front of Adames with the ball bounding into the outfield to bring Neto home with the second run.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Second baseman Lopez botched a potential inning-ending double play and then bobbled a grounder up the middle by Cal Stevenson, which allowed the tying run to score.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
20 Apr. 2025
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The Bucks either botched the switch entirely or got stuck with Haliburton attacking Brook Lopez in space or Siakam bullying Prince in the post.—
Brian Sampson,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flub. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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