fouled up

verb

past tense of foul up
1
as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way tried not to foul up the football play

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbled
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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fouled up But their strategy was fouled up when the car’s occupants switched on the headlights, throwing a glare up the tote road along which the wardens had planned to sprint. — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026 Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway. — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 17 Mar. 2026 Karaban almost had a costly turnover on an inbound play with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies fouled up three and Mulready split his free throw attempts, setting up the game-clinching freebies from the Huskies’ captain. — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouled up
  1. fumbled
  2. stumbled
  3. blew
  4. slipped up
  5. screwed up
  6. tripped
  7. murdered
Verb
  • After Duran took third on a fly ball, pinch-hitter Joc Pederson hit a ground ball up the middle that was fumbled by Taylor Walls, allowing Duran to score.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • Chad Powers season 2 sees the actor reprise his role as Russ Holliday, a former star college quarterback who fumbled his promising career after a humiliating championship-game meltdown.
    — Shelby Stivale, Entertainment Weekly, 29 July 2026
Definition of fumbled
Verb
  • Fresh from lifting the FIFA Club World Cup and buoyed by optimism around Enzo Maresca’s project, the Blues stumbled to a disappointing 10th-place Premier League finish.
    — Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 31 July 2026
  • The Curiosity rover stumbled on the polygon field while ascending the foothills of a three-mile-high mountain called Mount Sharp, where it’s been roaming since 2014.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 30 July 2026
Definition of stumbled
Verb
  • Moss paused to watch, as an oak catkin blew down and nestled in his hair.
    — Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • On a recent summer day, loud air conditioners blew cool air as nurses drew blood and tended wounds, calling to mind the makeshift spaces used during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    — Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of blew
Verb
  • The Iberians slipped up big time in their first match of the tournament, being shocked by Switzerland 1-0, bringing back ghosts of tournament failures past for Spanish fans.
    — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • Had Pep Guardiola’s side slipped up at a subdued Etihad, then Arsenal and Mikel Arteta could have won the title with victory over Burnley on Monday.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 13 May 2026
Definition of slipped up
Verb
  • But four years ago, Sorsby screwed up in a massive way.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
  • The two screwed up a top-rope stunner as Excalibur struggled to explain what happened like a 2026 Jim Ross.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Definition of screwed up
Verb
  • Brooks, who is recovering from back-to-back ACL injuries, took a kick return rep midway through practice and seemingly tripped with his momentum taking him head-first into rookie linebacker Jackson Kuwatch’s ankles.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 29 July 2026
  • The footage alone cannot tell us whether the robot tripped or lost balance.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of tripped
Verb
  • One actor who is less likely to return in a present-day capacity is Zayas, whose character, Victor Ochoa, was murdered in the season 1 finale.
    — Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
  • Dennis Rader murdered 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas, area between 1974 and 1991 while living what appeared to be a normal suburban life with his family.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of murdered

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Cite this Entry

“Fouled up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouled%20up. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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