as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
muffed the repair job and had to do it again
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as in fumble
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muff
Matt Barrows, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
Harris muffed a toss later that drive to hand the ball back to the Eagles.
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 3 Dec. 2024
To make the flying experience easier and more enjoyable, dogs have access to various aids such as calming treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, and calming jackets.
—Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muff 
Verb
The 49ers also got next to nothing on kick and punt returns, especially after return man Jacob Cowing muffed a punt that the 49ers were able to gather in after a scramble for the ball.
—Matt Barrows, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
Harris muffed a toss later that drive to hand the ball back to the Eagles.
—Mike Defabo, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
The controls, conveniently located on the rear of the left headphone muff, are responsive and easy for kids to navigate.
—Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 3 Dec. 2024
To make the flying experience easier and more enjoyable, dogs have access to various aids such as calming treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, and calming jackets.
—Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muff
Verb
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Snoop Dogg couldn't fumble the opportunity to roast the nearly 50-year age gap between football coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend at the NFL Honors.—
Jessica Wang,
EW.com,
7 Feb. 2025
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The seventh season will no doubt spotlight Leclerc’s win in his native Monaco, Norris fumbling his first WDC and Carlos Sainz’s search for an F1 seat after Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari.—
Lily Ford,
The Hollywood Reporter,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Land of the Lost (2009) The big, fat, truly awful belly-flop on his résumé, this leaden reboot/spoof of the 1970s TV series has everything: ugly CGI; a dumb homage to A Chorus Line; crass boob jokes; Jorma Taccone playing a monkey; Matt Lauer.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
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Remember a few years back when boobs were declared over?—
Naomi Fry,
The New Yorker,
25 Jan. 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
Noun
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Just like when Trump recently helped legitimize Maduro by sending White House special envoy Richard Grenell to meet with the Venezuelan dictator and pose in smiling pictures with him, Trump’s de facto abandonment of pro-democracy groups in the hemisphere is a major blunder.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
7 Feb. 2025
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Foreign policy is hard, but this is just a very big early blunder.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Kuch booted him from the program, the former student alleges.—
Sara Coello,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Feb. 2025
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Trump's inspectors general firings generate some shrugs Trump's ongoing civil service shakeup saw more than a dozen inspectors general booted from their posts across the federal government Friday.—
Avery Lotz,
Axios,
26 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Panic began to spread over Ford Field as the offensive miscues mounted for the home team.—
Kevin Dotson,
CNN,
19 Jan. 2025
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Those penalties, coupled with several miscues from the Texans’ special teams unit, were major factors in the loss.—
Amos Morale III,
The Athletic,
18 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Many defendants care primarily about resolving the case, being able to deduct the payment, and not being on the hook for any tax flubs the plaintiff makes.—
Robert W. Wood,
Forbes,
5 Nov. 2024
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Elsewhere in the interview, Ferrell explained why the mysterious line flub happened.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
12 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Despite some inevitable inaccuracies and omissions, the memoir remains the best portrait of Mahler in print—an act of complex, intense devotion.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
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The study’s data was also self-reported, which is more prone to inaccuracies.—
Elizabeth Yuko, PhD,
Health,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near muff
Cite this Entry
“Muff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muff. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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