1
as in fumbled
to make a mistake
we must have goofed up somewhere, because this cake clearly didn't turn out right
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in buggered (up)
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
he goofed up his first sale at the dealership
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goofed (up)
Verb
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Ball security The Hurricanes have fumbled the ball four times in the past two games and lost two of them — one apiece by Malachi Toney (first round against Texas A&M) and Fletcher (quarterfinal against Ohio State).—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
7 Jan. 2026 -
Kennedy fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his phone, the source of the noise.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Naumov and Torgashev moved onto the podium after several other contenders stumbled Saturday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
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On New Year’s Eve, 1962, Weir stumbled upon Dana Morgan’s Music Store in Palo Alto, where Jerry Garcia taught guitar.—
Michelle Hyun Kim,
Pitchfork,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dellandrea was injured in the Sharks’ game on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets as his right leg struck the post after he was inadvertently tripped while driving to the net.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2026
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Our last game against Utah, that’s what tripped us up on the road.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Princely Umanmielen sat at his locker in complete silence, still in his full uniform, roughly 30 minutes after the final whistle blew on Saturday.—
Mike Kaye
Updated January 11,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
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Green Bay blew a 21-6 lead in the fourth quarter of a wild 31-27 loss to the Chicago Bears in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Saturday night.—
Jay Cohen,
Twin Cities,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Even the Chargers special teams had slipped up, as returner Derius Davis fumbled a kickoff return in the third quarter that led directly to 3 Broncos points.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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And while Conrad was the one who slipped up at the peach orchard in Episode 5, Belly’s the one to blame in Seadon 3, Episode 6.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The often abrasive Atlas even agrees with June that older generations have screwed up the world for their kids.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
11 Nov. 2025
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In a world of near-constant conference realignment and the transfer portal, the annual Red River Rivalry game at the State Fair of Texas is one of the few things the sport hasn’t screwed up.—
Jim Barnes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The company aims to scale up its distribution footprint and leverage its physical stores — dubbed Alo Sanctuaries — not just as transactional spaces but hubs for community-building experiences.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
10 Jan. 2026
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But this week, the unwelcome house guest, dubbed Yellow 2120 by researchers, finally got his formal eviction notice.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Goofed (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goofed%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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