📖 Definitions of "Mess up"
verb
- 1
To make a mess of; to untidy, disorder, soil, or muss.
"The afternoon breeze messed up my hair."
- 2
To cause a problem with; to introduce an error or mistake in; to make muddled or confused; spoil; ruin.
"The change messed something up, and it's not working anymore."
- 3
To botch, bungle; to perform poorly on.
"Well, I messed up my solo, but otherwise it was a good concert."
- 4
To make a mistake; to do something incorrectly; to perform poorly.
"He has a hard time getting started because he's afraid he'll mess up."
💡 Words with a Similar Meaning to "Mess up"
Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| louse upverb | (idiomatic, colloquial) To mess up; to confuse; to put into a state of disorder. |
| muck upverb | (informal, transitive, intransitive) To ruin unintentionally. |
| messnoun | a thing or group of things in a disagreeable, disorganised, or dirty state; hence a bad situation |
| botch upverb | (informal, transitive) To ruin, mess up. |
| fumbleverb | (transitive, intransitive) To handle nervously or awkwardly. |
| bollocks upverb | (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) To fail to do correctly; to make a mess of. |
| bungleverb | (transitive) To incompetently perform (a task); to ruin (something) through incompetent action; to botch up, to bumble. |
| botchnoun | To perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something. |
| foul upverb | (intransitive, slang, idiomatic) To make a mistake, to go wrong. |
| blundernoun | A clumsy or embarrassing mistake. |
| flubnoun | (informal) An error; a mistake in the performance of an action. |
| bollixnoun | (transitive) To botch or bungle. |
| mishandleverb | (transitive) To deal with a situation incorrectly or ineffectively; to make a mistake in handling a situation. |
| screw upverb | (transitive, colloquial) To make a mess of; to ruin. |
| ruffle upverb | (transitive) To disturb the smoothness of. |
| rumplenoun | (transitive) To make wrinkled, particularly fabric. |
| spoilverb | (transitive) To ruin; to damage in such a way as to make undesirable or unusable. |
| blownoun | (intransitive) To produce an air current. |
| ball upverb | (transitive, slang) To ruin or botch. |
| fluffnoun | Anything light, soft or fuzzy, especially fur, hair, feathers. |
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