mess up

mess up
verb
1. make a mess of, destroy or ruin (Freq. 1)
-

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, ↑screw up, ↑ball up, ↑spoil, ↑muck up, ↑bungle, ↑fluff, ↑bollix, ↑bollix up, ↑bollocks, ↑bollocks up, ↑bobble, ↑mishandle, ↑louse up, ↑foul up, ↑fuck up
• Derivationally related forms:
↑fuckup (for: ↑fuck up), ↑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 (for: ↑screw up), ↑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

2. disturb the smoothness of
-

ruffle the surface of the water

• Syn: ↑ruffle, ↑ruffle up, ↑rumple
• Hypernyms: ↑disarrange
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Something ——s something

3. make a mess of or create disorder in
-

He messed up his room

• Syn: ↑mess
• Derivationally related forms: ↑mess (for: ↑mess)
• Hypernyms: ↑disorder, ↑disarray
• Verb Frames:
-

Somebody ——s something

-

Something ——s something

* * *

informal mishandle a situation

he singled out the health care fiasco as an example of how the government has messed up

* * *

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

About halfway into the recipe, I realized that I had messed up, and I had to start over.

— often + on

She's afraid she'll mess up on the test.

I messed up on my first attempt.

2 mess (something) up or mess up (something)
2 a : to make mistakes when you are doing or making (something)

He messed up the speech.

I messed up my first attempt and had to try again.

2 b : to make (something) dirty or untidy : to make a mess of (something)

Don't mess up my room.

The wind messed up her hair. = Her hair got messed up in the wind.

2 c : to damage or ruin (something)

She's really messed up her life.

His life has been messed up by his drug addiction.

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

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

My watch has been messed up [=has not worked properly] ever since I dropped it in the sink.

The mountains messed up the cell phone signal.

3 mess (someone) up or mess up (someone)
3 a US : to beat and injure (someone)

He got messed up [=roughed up, beaten up] by a gang of bullies.

They messed him up pretty badly.

3 b : to make (someone) very upset and unhappy

Breaking up with her boyfriend has really messed her up.

She's been pretty messed up ever since she broke up with her boyfriend.

• • •
Main Entry: ↑mess

* * *

ˌmess ˈup | ˌmess sthˈup derived
to spoil sth or do it badly

•

I've really messed up this time.

•

If you cancel now you'll mess up all my arrangements.

Main entry: ↑messderived

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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