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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Recent Examples of muck up
The sphere is now rigged to heat and cool things—space gets very hot and very cold—and to handle simulant, which would muck up a standard vacuum system.
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Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2024
The intelligence agents have each mucked up a mission in their own way or are just deemed no longer suitable to work at the Park, MI5's fictional HQ in London's Regent's Park.
—Ellie O'Mahoney, theweek, 6 Sep. 2024
Before 1993, no such rule existed; researchers often excluded women from clinical studies out of fear that their menstrual cycles would muck up the data.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 12 Aug. 2024
The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has only mucked up the waters.
—Washington Post, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up 
Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2024
The intelligence agents have each mucked up a mission in their own way or are just deemed no longer suitable to work at the Park, MI5's fictional HQ in London's Regent's Park.
—Ellie O'Mahoney, theweek, 6 Sep. 2024
Before 1993, no such rule existed; researchers often excluded women from clinical studies out of fear that their menstrual cycles would muck up the data.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 12 Aug. 2024
The Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has only mucked up the waters.
—Washington Post, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck up
Verb
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After wide receiver Courtland Sutton fumbled at the goal line, the Panthers marched down the field on a 10-play, 98-yard scoring drive, which ended with Young finding Coker for a 15-yard touchdown pass.Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 29 Oct. 2024
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Even in that moment, he got stuck on a couple of words and fumbled the line.ABC NEWS, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Without breaking stride, Hunter blew past four more Utah defenders and hopped into the end zone, a broken play transformed into a work of art.Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2024
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Oldenburg’s ode to Mies van der Rohe’s signature pocket square, the 12-foot fiberglass Handkerchief, will blow toward Park Avenue, and inside, a giant cloth saw will hug the walls and floor.Morgan Meier, Curbed, 12 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Myers nails the realistic teen who is a far cry from the unflappable Nancy Drew, screwing up plenty and often terrified of what she’s gotten herself into.Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 2 Nov. 2024
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My first assumption on the hunt with Walz was that somebody had screwed up, failing to place the birds in the pre-planned locations.Wes Siler, Outside Online, 17 Oct. 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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Lobby group Family Business UK said tens of thousands of family-run businesses and farms will be ruined by this change due to lower levels of inheritance tax relief.Marc Shoffman, theweek, 6 Nov. 2024
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The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined.Hernán Muñoz and Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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State regulators, meanwhile, have rarely used a mechanism in their disposal to boot abusive employers from bringing migrant workers.Sam Tabachnik, The Denver Post, 1 Nov. 2024
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State lawmakers booted the TSU board and upended the university's search for a new president following a series of withering audits that described widespread mismanagement by top administrators.Adam Tamburin, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024
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 21 Nov. 2024.
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