screw up

screw up
verb
1. make more intense (Freq. 1)
-

Emotions were screwed up

• Syn: ↑heat up, ↑hot up
• Hypernyms: ↑intensify, ↑compound, ↑heighten, ↑deepen
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Something ——s something

2. make a mess of, destroy or ruin
-

I botched the dinner and we had to eat out

-

the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement

• Syn:
↑botch, ↑bodge, ↑bumble, ↑fumble, ↑botch up, ↑muff, ↑blow, ↑flub, ↑ball up, ↑spoil, ↑muck up, ↑bungle, ↑fluff, ↑bollix, ↑bollix up, ↑bollocks, ↑bollocks up, ↑bobble, ↑mishandle, ↑louse up, ↑foul up, ↑mess up, ↑fuck up
• Derivationally related forms:
↑fuckup (for: ↑fuck up), ↑mess-up (for: ↑mess up), ↑foul-up (for: ↑foul up), ↑fluff (for: ↑fluff), ↑bungle (for: ↑bungle), ↑bungler (for: ↑bungle), ↑spoil (for: ↑spoil), ↑spoilage (for: ↑spoil), ↑spoiling (for: ↑spoil), ↑ballup (for: ↑ball up), ↑screwup, ↑flub (for: ↑flub), ↑fumbler (for: ↑fumble), ↑bumbler (for: ↑bumble), ↑botcher (for: ↑botch), ↑botch (for: ↑botch)
• Hypernyms: ↑fail, ↑go wrong, ↑miscarry
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s

-

Somebody ——s something

3. screw or turn higher
• Hypernyms: ↑screw
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Something ——s something

4. twist into a strained configuration
-

screw up one's face

• Hypernyms: ↑grimace, ↑make a face, ↑pull a face
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

* * *

informal completely mismanage or mishandle a situation

I'm sorry, Susan, I screwed up

* * *

screw up [phrasal verb]
informal
1 a : to make a mistake : to do something incorrectly

Sorry about that, I screwed up.

You really screwed up this time.

1 b screw (something) up or screw up (something) : to make a mistake in (something)

The waiter screwed up our order.

This performance is important, so don't screw it up.

2 screw (something) up or screw up (something) : to damage or ruin (something)

Drugs screwed up her life.

: to damage or change (something) so that it does not work properly

I don't know what I did, but I somehow screwed up the computer.

3 screw (someone) up or screw up (someone) : to make (someone) very upset and unhappy for a long time

The divorce really screwed him up.

4 screw (something) up or screw up (something) : to tighten the muscles of (your face or eyes)

He screwed his face up into a frown.

She screwed up her eyes [=she squinted] and tried to read the sign.

5 screw up the/your courage : to make yourself brave enough to do something difficult

I finally screwed up the courage to tell them that I was quitting.

— see also ↑screw 6, 2
• • •
Main Entry: ↑screw

* * *

ˌscrew ˈup derived
(slang, especially NAmE) to do sth badly or spoil sth
Syn: ↑mess up

•

You really screwed up there!

related noun ↑screw-up
Main entry: ↑screwderived

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Screw — (skr[udd]), n. [OE. scrue, OF. escroue, escroe, female screw, F. [ e]crou, L. scrobis a ditch, trench, in LL., the hole made by swine in rooting; cf. D. schroef a screw, G. schraube, Icel. skr[=u]fa.] 1. A cylinder, or a cylindrical perforation,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • screw — [skro͞o] n. [ME screwe < MFr escroue, hole in which the screw turns < L scrofa, sow, infl. by scrobis, vulva] 1. a) a mechanical device for fastening things together, consisting essentially of a cylindrical or conical piece of metal… …   English World dictionary

  • Screw — Screw, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Screwed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Screwing}.] 1. To turn, as a screw; to apply a screw to; to press, fasten, or make firm, by means of a screw or screws; as, to screw a lock on a door; to screw a press. [1913 Webster] 2. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Screw — (kurz für: screwing chopping) ist eine Remix Technik der Hip Hop Musik, die aus dem Süden der USA stammt. Dabei wird ein Lied (meist ein Hip Hop Track) in langsamer Geschwindigkeit abgespielt (screwed zu deutsch etwa: heruntergeschraubt), Teile… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • screw — screw·able; screw; screw·drive; screw·driv·er; screw·er; screw·less; screw·man; un·screw; cork·screw; …   English syllables

  • screw — ► NOUN 1) a thin, sharp pointed metal pin with a raised spiral thread running around it and a slotted head, used to join things together by being rotated in under pressure. 2) a cylinder with a spiral ridge or thread running round the outside… …   English terms dictionary

  • screw up — {v. phr.}, {slang}, {semi vulgar}, {best avoided} 1. To make a mess of, to make an error which causes confusion. * /The treasurer screwed up the accounts of the Society so badly that he had to be fired./ 2. To cause someone to be neurotic or… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • screw up — {v. phr.}, {slang}, {semi vulgar}, {best avoided} 1. To make a mess of, to make an error which causes confusion. * /The treasurer screwed up the accounts of the Society so badly that he had to be fired./ 2. To cause someone to be neurotic or… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Screw 32 — was a Berkeley/ East Bay area punk rock band. Their name is derived from an anti skateboarding measure on the ballots in Concord, California. They were noted for self publicity. For example, they ordered stickers by the thousands and stuck them… …   Wikipedia

  • screw-up — noun count usually singular INFORMAL a situation in which someone makes a big mistake: There s been a big screw up with the mailing list no one s received the invitations. another government screw up …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • screw up — (something) to spoil or damage something. You couldn t screw up much worse than I did. Somehow the lawyer screwed up my appointment again. This is detailed work, and people screw it up once in a while …   New idioms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”