as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muck up
Tobias Harris isn’t considered a stalwart defender, but his matchup helped muck up the Knicks’ offensive attack and into ugly possessions.
—
Tom Rende, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
But Davidson believes that employees lied to government officials and mucked up the S.E.C. investigation.
—Adam Iscoe, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Employing Pitino’s signature full-court press, St. John’s was able to muck up the game to set up a close finish.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 22 Mar. 2025
The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for muck up
Tom Rende, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025
But Davidson believes that employees lied to government officials and mucked up the S.E.C. investigation.
—Adam Iscoe, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Employing Pitino’s signature full-court press, St. John’s was able to muck up the game to set up a close finish.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 22 Mar. 2025
The hydrogen flow keeps vaporized tin from mucking up the system’s optics.
—IEEE Spectrum, 12 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for muck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck up
Verb
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Lucille Ball once lost her glasses on stage at the Emmys and had to fumble her way through.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Seconds thereafter, the Clippers fumbled the ball away once again, setting up Gloucester with another short field.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As health restrictions discouraged people from blowing directly into instruments, Gajewski and Brown reimagined the design.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Crosby can’t afford to screw up his endgame in Pittsburgh because losing a perfect game with two outs in the ninth wouldn’t be right, not for a man of his character.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
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Best of all though is Reeves, channeling his own 1989 comic past from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or a bit of Todd Higgins from Parenthood to bring deadpan delight as the well-meaning but constantly screwing up angel trying to do good but being so bad at it.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.—
Alex Harris
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Verb
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Some hardware is brass-plated, which means scrubbing could expose the metal underneath and ruin the finish.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
16 Sep. 2025
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Simone Jasper,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Elon Musk has been booted from his spot as the world's richest person, according to Bloomberg's latest ranking.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Some states with a lone 400 member last year were booted from the list, including Idaho (Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot), Rhode Island (Providence Equity Partners founder Jonathon Nelson) and Maine (Dexter Shoe Company heiress Susan Alfond).—
Ella Malmgren,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Muck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck%20up. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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