mess up
phrasal verb
messed up; messing up; messes up
informal
: 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 + onShe's afraid she'll mess up on the test.
I messed up on my first attempt.
Examples of mess up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The venue holds personal meaning for the father of the bride, who has spent too many happy hours attending to his child’s needs to have things messed up now.
—
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
Regardless of the chant being messed up slightly, Eagles fans are still overtly excited about their team potentially making another Super Bowl.
—Joel Thayer, Newsweek, 26 Jan. 2025
Matt Ross’ Captain Fantastic, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, India Donaldson’s Good One and Philippe Lesage’s Who by Fire all feature children coming of age in the wilderness as their fathers mess up in one way or another.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Some users have reported on X that since the ban, their TikTok algorithms have been allegedly messed up.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mess up 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
Regardless of the chant being messed up slightly, Eagles fans are still overtly excited about their team potentially making another Super Bowl.
—Joel Thayer, Newsweek, 26 Jan. 2025
Matt Ross’ Captain Fantastic, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, India Donaldson’s Good One and Philippe Lesage’s Who by Fire all feature children coming of age in the wilderness as their fathers mess up in one way or another.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2025
Some users have reported on X that since the ban, their TikTok algorithms have been allegedly messed up.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mess up
Dictionary Entries Near mess up
Cite this Entry
“Mess up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess%20up. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share