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

The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports a handful of conservative House Republicans voiced concerns about Johnson to Trump even before last week’s government funding fiasco, prompting even more uncertainty about the Louisiana Republican’s grasp on the gavel weeks before the Speakership vote. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 24 Dec. 2024

Here was the Kirk Cousins fiasco: The Falcons blew it regarding the free-agent quarterback. —Terence Moore, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024

Daboll repeated a cliche several times to try to brush aside the plane fiasco after Sunday’s 35-14 blowout loss to Baltimore. —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 15 Dec. 2024

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law fiasco could spell his political doom. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024

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

Kids Definition

fiasco

noun

fi·​as·​co

fē-ˈas-kō

plural fiascoes

: a complete failure