fiasco

1 of 2

noun (1)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈa-(ˌ)skō 

also

-ˈä- 

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure

The critic called the film a fiasco.

… the total fiasco that was his personal life …

—Margaret Atwood

fiasco

2 of 2

noun (2)

fi·​as·​co fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skō  -ˈa- 

plural fiascoes also fiaschi fē-ˈä-(ˌ)skē 

-ˈa-

: bottle, flask

especially : a bulbous long-necked straw-covered bottle for wine

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bomb
• bummer
• bust
• catastrophe
• clinker
• clunker
• debacle
• débâcle
• disaster
• dud
• failure
• fizzle
• flop
• frost
• lemon
• loser
• miss
• shipwreck
• turkey
• washout

Examples of fiasco in a Sentence

Noun (1)

undaunted by his early fiascoes, he continued his experiments in rocketry

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Further reading on the DOGE savings tracker fiasco. —Brian Barrett, WIRED, 20 Feb. 2025

This turned out to be the real classic between these rivals, not that fiasco of a Winter Classic that was the Hawks’ 6-2 loss on New Year’s Eve at Wrigley Field. —Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025

Along the way, there are stops at the legendary studio-trashing tornado unleashed by John Belushi favorites hardcore punk madmen Fear, as well as Ashlee Simpson’s 2004 lip synch fiasco. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Jan. 2025

This scenario is all too common, as exemplified by the MGM Resorts fiasco in 2023. —Gil Dabah, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French, from Italian, from fare fiasco, literally, to make a bottle

Noun (2)

Italian, from Late Latin flasco bottle — more at flask

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1854, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1887, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fiasco

• casco

Kids Definition

fiasco

noun

fi·​as·​co

fē-ˈas-kō

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure