as in fumbling
to make a mistake
if you slip up in copying the data, the final result will of course be wrong
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Recent Examples of slipping up
The main components have measurement indicators so there’s no chance of slipping up, and the parts can all nest inside the large container for easy storage when you’re done drinking your coffee.
—
Mark Marino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Aug. 2025
Mark Marino, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slipping up
Verb
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Then, after starting the second half by fumbling the ball away at the Rebels’ 17, the Cougars’ next two drives ended in two more Belinske-Strauss touchdown runs – the second of which came on a possession that started at the Champlin Park 1 after a high snap on a Rebels’ punt attempt.—
Frank Rajkowski,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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Boise State played an uneven first half in Tampa, fumbling twice and committing a huge penalty that gave life to a South Florida touchdown drive.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The episode ends with a surreal, graphic deepfake scene of a totally nude Donald Trump stumbling around a desert.—
Nick Marx,
The Conversation,
11 Sep. 2025
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Inside the agency, Dudek, ill-prepared for leadership or for DOGE’s murky agenda, was stumbling through the chaos in part by creating some of his own.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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As Nick in the present-adjacent day sure knows a hell of a lot about Dante Alighieri, perhaps the best person to criticize him and recognize his gaps in logic and knowledge, and how Nick is so profoundly screwing up his own life, would be Dante himself.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But the truth is, the Rockies (41-109) are tripping toward the finish line.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
14 Sep. 2025
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In my heavy-tripping state, the taste is glorious.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slipping up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slipping%20up. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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