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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San Francisco’s star defensive end tackled running back Ken Walker III for no gain on first-and-5 from the 9-yard line, then pushed right tackle Abe Lucas back in the pocket on second down, causing Darnold to fumble.—
Michael-Shawn Dugar,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Defensive tackle Ed Oliver also caused Derrick Henry to fumble – the running back’s only blemish during the night.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Cleveland Browns blew both a golden opportunity at what would’ve been the surprise upset of Week 1 and a chance to add to the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-season misery of the past few years.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Evolve scenarios as markets do—launch a competitor's product, increase taxes, screw up a promotion, win an award...—
David Mahbub,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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Also, the slots are spaced perfectly to match the screw holes on the bottom of a 2.5-inch drive, and the slots are long enough to screw up to three of those drives here.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Aug. 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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To avoid the busiest times, try to visit the wall and the main church ruins early in the morning or later in the afternoon when most tour groups have moved on.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Helene cost him less than 10 percent of that collection, thousands of seeds ruined when his freezers lost power and frost melted.—
Lila Hempel-Edgers,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But in return, the Spring Hill lawyer gets booted from the Bar for at least five years and any civil or criminal matters associated with the Bar cases remain unaffected.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
2 Sep. 2025
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With one out, Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit a sharp ground ball directly to Moore, who booted it.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Muck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck%20up. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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