as in fumbled
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
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Recent Examples of mucked up
Toronto is a good defensive team but doesn’t shoot the 3-ball well and has a half-court offense that can get mucked up and relies heavily on midrange jumpers.
—
James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Well, the first and third mucked up their stories with some overly contrived lore about cults and gods, and the fourth was an experiment for the formula that didn’t quite work.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
Lawmakers need to get back to Washington to end the government shutdown - a shutdown that has mucked up travel plans around the country by contributing to widespread flight delays.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
James L. Edwards Iii, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Well, the first and third mucked up their stories with some overly contrived lore about cults and gods, and the fourth was an experiment for the formula that didn’t quite work.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 23 Jan. 2026
Lawmakers need to get back to Washington to end the government shutdown - a shutdown that has mucked up travel plans around the country by contributing to widespread flight delays.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 11 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mucked up
Verb
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The Warriors had a chance to send the game to overtime on the final possession of regulation, but Post, who hit four 3s on the night, fumbled the catch and turned the ball over, leaving the Knicks with the ball as the shot clock expired.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
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In a stunning blowout Friday night, KU fumbled its conference tournament semifinal against the Houston Cougars, losing 69-47.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Sens are going to lose their pick for nothing at all, because of how a GM their fans didn’t like screwed up a trade his team wasn’t even involved in.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
11 Mar. 2026
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That might be kind of screwed up.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Jalen Brunson scored 17 points and OG Anunoby finished with 16 for the Knicks, who trailed by 13 points in the first half, then blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Startled shoppers were knocked off their feet as Crosby blew by them.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Depending on how bad the pest ruined plants in a particular latitude, the farmer either made it financially, or borrowed more from the bank to eat during the winter.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
19 Mar. 2026
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But this war may well have ruined the chances for such diplomatic options for many years to come.—
Matthew Bunn,
The Conversation,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Wild turkeys gobbled up Staten Island straphangers’ time on Monday, after a flock fouled up service on the Staten Island Railway.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
17 Mar. 2026
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Karaban almost had a costly turnover on an inbound play with 14 seconds left, but the Huskies fouled up three and Mulready split his free throw attempts, setting up the game-clinching freebies from the Huskies’ captain.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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State officials say that Jackson murdered 22-year-old Harley Corwin, of Escanaba, on July 3, 2023.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
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In November, Kerr spoke about the need for gun reform after legendary Oakland coach John Beam was murdered at Laney College, and called for change after a shooting at Brown University in December.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Still, Avila, the college basketball cult sensation dubbed Cream Abdul-Jabbar (or Milk Chamberlain or SLU Alcindor, among many other nicknames), is likely to be the most important player on the floor.—
Ralph D. Russo,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
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Proposition 187 — dubbed the Save Our State initiative — would be introduced three months after the renaming of Brooklyn Avenue.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mucked up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mucked%20up. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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