as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of muck up
Part of that journey was squaring Montoya’s goal of playing entertaining, attacking soccer with mucking up the game.
—
Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Draymond Green, who has been terrific this season defensively, constantly mucked up the paint with rotations.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
This wouldn’t be the first time such a discrepancy mucks up the MCU.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 26 July 2024
Stock market The stock market is off to its best start to a year since 1997 but a massive dockworkers strike underway in the US could muck up some of that progress, economists say.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up 
Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
Draymond Green, who has been terrific this season defensively, constantly mucked up the paint with rotations.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
This wouldn’t be the first time such a discrepancy mucks up the MCU.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 26 July 2024
Stock market The stock market is off to its best start to a year since 1997 but a massive dockworkers strike underway in the US could muck up some of that progress, economists say.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck up
Verb
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My manuscript was finally being read by editors, who responded with almost-wins — an overtime pass, fumbled.—
Tara Dorabji,
People.com,
16 Jan. 2025
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Gone are the days of fumbling with cords and adapters—this smart board simplifies connectivity to keep your focus on what matters most.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Is this a lot of hocus pocus or a computational paradigm that might blow current capabilities out of the water and make NVDA look like, well, Intel of prior years?—
Vineer Bhansali,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
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The Eagles defense also uncharacteristically blew several coverages in Week 16, including on two of Daniels’ five touchdown passes.—
Ted Nguyen,
The Athletic,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Robby doesn’t want to involve the police and screw up David’s life if this is a false alarm, or there’s still a chance to talk to the kid.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
16 Jan. 2025
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When politicians screw up on a public stage, those blunders can be, at best, meme-ified and, at worst, career-ending.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
Newsweek,
31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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For just one of 67 counties to use the wrong one could foul up an entire statewide count.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2024
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See the stunning shot... AIRLINE 'CHAOS' – A flight was canceled after someone fouled up the aircraft amid delays.—
Fox News Staff,
Fox News,
19 Oct. 2023
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Miami Herald,
22 Jan. 2025
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While that’s still below 1% of all luggage handled, try explaining that statistic to the family whose weekend away with the kids has been ruined by lost luggage.—
Duncan Madden,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Now, it’s been booted down to #2 for the second time, and not just by a night of WWE RAW.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
17 Jan. 2025
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The stock, which was booted from the Dow in November, is still down more than 50% in the last 12 months.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near muck up
Cite this Entry
“Muck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck%20up. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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