fouling up

verb

present participle of foul up
1
as in fumbling
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 stumbling
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 fouling up Then police closed that, too — at midafternoon Tuesday after a report of a suspicious package — fouling up traffic for New Yorkers even more. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouling up
  1. fumbling
  2. stumbling
  3. screwing up
  4. slipping up
  5. blowing
  6. tripping
  7. mucking up
Verb
  • Specifically, Nico Iamaleava struggled, fumbling once and throwing interceptions to Oregon’s Koi Perich and Jerry Mixon.
    — Elias Esquivel, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Fittingly, the game ended on Oregon fumbling while trying to run a series of laterals down the field as time expired.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of fumbling
Verb
  • Unlike every other film genre, the history of horror, at least since the 1950s, is a story of amateurs stumbling in the dark.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of stumbling like the Phillies and Cubs, the Padres surged and took with them the #1 Wild Card spot, earning the right to host this series.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of stumbling
Verb
  • So not screwing up Spider-Man is about putting a beating heart at the center rather than a bunch of spectacle.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The fear of failure can do as much harm as actually screwing up.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of screwing up
Verb
  • Arsenal are firmly in title-chasing mode and goal difference could still prove crucial, despite Manchester City slipping up against Everton on Monday.
    — Abdul Rehman, New York Times, 7 May 2026
  • But knowing Olson’s proclivity for slipping up in hysterical fashion made the match that much more appealing.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 7 May 2026
Definition of slipping up
Verb
  • This inspires Other Mommy to gruesomely kill Frank in front of Bela, including blowing his head up in an outrageous explosion of blood.
    — William Earl, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Gray noise, per The New York Times, may sound like wind blowing or steady rainfall and works for apartment dwellers sensitive to sharp or fluctuating noises.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of blowing
Verb
  • In overtime, the Golden Knights quickly took advantage of a tripping penalty on Kings center Scott Laughton.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Behar, who dislocated the shoulder after catching her heel and tripping last week at The View‘s ABC studio building in New York, is expected to return to the show next week.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of tripping
Verb
  • But life has a way of mucking up even the best plans, sometimes all at once and sometimes bit by bit and usually a little of both.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Amid the memory shortage that's mucking up component prices globally, at least Qualcomm has some promising news for folks hoping to pay less for a daily driver.
    — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026
Definition of mucking up

Browse Nearby Words

fouling
fouling up
foully
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Cite this Entry

“Fouling up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouling%20up. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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