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
  • Tensions between the galley and the interior continue to escalate over lunch service, when a radio mishap fumbles the order in which the food should go out.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 May 2026
  • The movie fumbles the chance to do something arresting with this seminal period in art.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 May 2026
Definition of fumbles
Verb
  • Santa Ana, the country's tallest volcano), horseback rides along the black sand, and trips out along the Ruta de las Flores.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026
  • Powerful superconducting magnets could also provide a solution to the problem of cancer-causing cosmic radiation that explorers will encounter during stays on the moon or trips deeper into space.
    — Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of trips
Verb
  • So the average curve still looks calm while the variance underneath it blows wide open.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • That blows Nolan’s old record for The Dark Knight Rises($249 million) out of the wine-dark water.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 19 July 2026
Definition of blows
Verb
  • But then our son stumbles into the room and burrows between us, his warmth radiating right alongside my light.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026
  • Let’s say Paul Simon, a curious man, stumbles upon your song and then reads this interview.
    — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 20 July 2026
Definition of stumbles
Verb
  • Moriarty has reported on the yogurt shop murders for over 30 years.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 26 June 2026
  • Not the family stuff, like Natalie’s spontaneous nipple piercing after making out with Cady’s maybe-daughter, Nevaeh (Malia Pyles), who later murders her own mother after kissing her, for way too long, on the mouth.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 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.

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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 22 Jul. 2026.

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