fouls up

verb

present tense third-person singular of foul up
1
as in fumbles
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 trips
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fouls up
  1. fumbles
  2. trips
  3. blows
  4. stumbles
  5. murders
  6. slips up
Verb
  • So the associate who fumbles a membership conversation doesn’t need a lecture.
    — Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • DeLand was driving inside the 20 yard line and Taihj Moore fumbles, recovered by Lake Mary.
    — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of fumbles
Verb
  • This effectively reduces the Platinum status requirement to 130,000 TQPs and makes earning unlimited Companion Pass trips a bit easier.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • And maybe trips like this can help the nomad way of life survive.
    — Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of trips
Verb
  • The war in Iran, high gas prices, the stubbornly high cost of living, and blows to Trump’s popularity all contributed against the Republicans.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Nov. 2026
  • As Paladin drives off, contract finally fulfilled, an estate guard with a rocket launcher blows his murder-van into flaming wreckage.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of blows
Verb
  • The horse stumbles, trapping Galadriel underneath as the figure, a ring-wearing nazgnagôl, strides toward her.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • This year, a gaunt, ravenous stranger stumbles out of the dark carrying something that eats its hosts from the inside out.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • This included three of the women involved in the brutal Manson murders — Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten — all scheduled to be gassed.
    — M. Sara Rosenthal, STAT, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Joe almost murders Morgan (Sherry and Morgan in the same episode?
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of murders
Verb
  • At Baku, however, the car looks to be a podium contender, potentially fighting for the win if McLaren slips up.
    — Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Along the way Texas needs to hope Seattle slips up, or else that final weekend in Cleveland could wind up being meaningless.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
Definition of slips up
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.

Browse Nearby Words

fouls
fouls up
foul-up
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Cite this Entry

“Fouls up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fouls%20up. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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