as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muck up
By comparing the gene trees to the species trees, the researchers estimated rates of horizontal gene transfer, gene loss and other evolutionary processes that could muck up the picture.
—
Jonathan Lambert, Quanta Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for muck up
Jonathan Lambert, Quanta Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for muck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck up
Verb
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Messes: The Blue Jays are fumbling a star It’s been a tough few years for the Blue Jays and high-end baseball talent.—
Chris Branch,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
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The Best Wireless Chargers to Refuel Your Phone (or Watch) Stop fumbling for cables in the dark.—
Boutayna Chokrane,
WIRED,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Spartans jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, but blew the game open in the second behind Blair’s playmaking.—
Nathan Canilao,
The Mercury News,
16 Feb. 2025
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The firm expanded rapidly, blowing through funds at an equal breakneck pace.—
Mayu Saini,
Sourcing Journal,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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If one of the 11 messes up, the whole thing’s screwing up.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2025
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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
Verb
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In between those foul shots, the Jayhawks intentionally fouled up three.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
29 Jan. 2025
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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
Verb
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The film ends with Ross going full Red Hulk in the White House Rose Garden (oops), nearly ruining his legacy (Sterns’ real prize) and ultimately forcing him to admit his wrongdoing, give up his office, and head to The Raft to serve an undetermined amount of time in the floating prison.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
14 Feb. 2025
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Ancient people weren't about to let these pests ruin their crops or their lives.—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With the implementation of the law in 1971, observance of Washington's Birthday was booted to the third Monday in February.—
Avery Lotz,
Axios,
17 Feb. 2025
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Less than a month into his second term, Trump booted a portion of the Kennedy Center's board of trustees (prompting additional members to resign) and installed himself as the new chair.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA TODAY,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Muck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck%20up. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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