screws up

verb

present tense third-person singular of screw up
1
as in fumbles
to make a mistake we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in blows
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of screws up But what really screws up Julia are the deliveries. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2026 Kyle tries to jump up the wall, lands awkwardly, and screws up his ankle. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026 Ego screws up most of the things in this life. — Jason Mastrodonato, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screws up
  1. fumbles
  2. blows
  3. stumbles
  4. murders
  5. trips
  6. boots
  7. slips up
  8. dubs
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
  • But their erotic encounter is short-lived, as Joe tumbles and blows his back out while sheepishly dancing to Sade.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • Eleni riding in the backseat of a convertible as the wind blows through her curls.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
Definition of blows
Verb
  • Yet things truly take a turn one day after Miguel stumbles upon a boy, Felipe (Yago Andreu), chained beneath the old water tank near the witch’s old, run-down house.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026
  • In the first, a quick history tour revisits how bad Minions have been in their quest to find villains to serve, until one group lands in 1920s Hollywood and stumbles into stardom.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 7 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
  • 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
  • Dominic Zvada boots a 31-yard field goal to give the Wolverines the lead.
    — Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 31 Dec. 2025
Definition of boots
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
Verb
  • The stockpiles in Cushing, Oklahoma – which dubs itself the pipeline crossroads of America – fell below 20 million barrels and remained below that critical threshold last week.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 7 July 2026
  • Its publisher dubs Cloudthief a data-center noir, which makes Air a data-center fantasy and last year’s film Eddington a data-center western.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
Definition of dubs

Browse Nearby Words

screws around
screws up
screwup
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Screws up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screws%20up. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bibelot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All