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

Over the coming days, the owners of Four Seasons Total Landscaping did their patriotic duty and cashed in on their temporary notoriety, selling souvenirs to commemorate the fiasco; to Trump’s detractors, the debacle epitomized the clownish incompetence that had defined his presidency. —Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

This gradual adoption of Windows on Arm should be a success story, but the dev kit fiasco has overshadowed it. —Tom Warren, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2024

Their yacht date, Mark's first solo outing, is a fiasco at sea. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Oct. 2024

As the fiasco surrounding the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) has shown, the regulatory framework adds complexity that can be hard for many students to navigate. —Ray Ravaglia, Forbes, 16 Oct. 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