as in mistake
an instance of confusion
there was a foul-up with our mail order, and not one item arrived as ordered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
tried not to foul up the football play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trip
to make a mistake
unfortunately, I fouled up and in my e-mail gave everyone the wrong date for the meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of foul-up
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Rather, inflation had arisen from supply chain foul-ups caused by the Covid epidemic, an act of God rendered worse by comic-opera mismanagement under President Donald Trump.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 30 June 2023
Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.
—Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
Noun
That foul-up then gets included in the series of questions and answers, causing the final answer to go askew.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Rather, inflation had arisen from supply chain foul-ups caused by the Covid epidemic, an act of God rendered worse by comic-opera mismanagement under President Donald Trump.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 30 June 2023
Verb
Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.
—Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.
—Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foul-up
Noun
-
Cole Caufield served notice that Team USA made a grave mistake leaving him off the Olympic team, but Morgan Geekie’s deuce trumped the brilliant Montreal Canadiens forward’s hat trick in the Bruins’ thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win at TD Garden on Saturday night.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The other side of that coin is that the lengthy language might make mistakes and open the door to interpretations that undercut the law.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Beauty products have taken over my sink, leaving me fumbling for my go-to face washes and serums every morning and night.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The Steelers failed to capitalize on the miscues from a jittery Stroud, who fumbled twice and threw a pick deep in Pittsburgh territory.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Reviewers say that this model’s eco mode outputs just the right amount of heat without tripping your breaker.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The operators likely see green lights and stable voltage readings on their screens even as transformers are overloading and breakers are tripping in the physical world.—
Saman Zonouz,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Despite their compact size, the tags display information openly to prevent luggage mix-ups, and their metal construction draws the eye.—
Danielle Calma,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In February 2020, a gas station in Boulder was not fined following a mix-up with its fuel transfers.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But aerospace engineers at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a material that blows those two out of the water with nearly thrice the thermal conductivity.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The shuttle just suddenly blew apart.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The same officer shoves Pretti in his chest, leading Pretti and the other protester to stumble backward.—
Hannah Fingerhut,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Dutcher and his staff might have stumbled on something.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Multiple helpers can slow response during urgent scams and create confusion when fast decisions matter.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The category confusion continued this year.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Tim overcame his fear of screwing up again and asked Lucy to move in.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, ‘The Little Drummer Boy’ There really aren’t many ways to screw up a straightforward ballad that needs only a rolling snare drum as required instrumentation, but leave it to the Simpson sisters circa 2004 to burn it all down.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
4 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foul-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foul-up. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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