1
as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
clearly, there's been some sort of screwup about what time we were supposed to meet
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2
as in butcher
someone who bungles an effort
don't ask the office screwup to arrange the holiday party
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1
as in to fumble
to make a mistake
we all screw up from time to time, so don't sweat it
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2
as in to blow
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
you've totally screwed up the spreadsheet
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of screwup
Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The Iowa caucus has also had its share of screwups.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 16 Jan. 2024
Paul Tassi, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Horrifically late starts because then the next show is all screwed up and the whole day is screwed up.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screwup 
Noun
Similar screwups would occur again and again over the years, with each side perennially overinterpreting the other’s behavior while explaining away its own.
—Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The Iowa caucus has also had its share of screwups.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 16 Jan. 2024
Verb
The First Descendant badly screwed up the launch of its first season, adding irritating seasonal invasion missions and making the farm for new character Hailey feel insurmountable.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Horrifically late starts because then the next show is all screwed up and the whole day is screwed up.
—Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for screwup
Recent Examples of Synonyms for screwup
Noun
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The Sharks scored first at Madison Square Garden but couldn’t overcome their mistakes in the latter half of the second, allowing three unanswered goals in less than five minutes in a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Rangers in the third game of a four-game road trip.Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
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As the holiday season approaches, Jordan is turning his mistake into positive action by using his newfound notoriety to help drive donations to the Rocky Hill Human Services Food Bank, his police department said on social media.Gabriella Rudy, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Neal McKeague, a local butcher, was indicted but later acquitted of the murders.Marianne Mather, Chicago Tribune, 24 Oct. 2024
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Go deeper: Beloved Asheville butcher is now open in Myers Park Pics & Prints Photography studio at Concord Mills Mall.Laura Barrero, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024
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
Noun
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The primary issues facing this company highlighted by Jana are capital misallocation, a series of operational blunders and corporate governance failings.Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2024
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The blunder not only allowed a run to score, but extended an inning that would eventually see the Dodgers erase a 5-0 deficit.David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Surveyors reportedly stumbled upon the endangered bees during an environmental review of the area, forcing regulators to suspend the project.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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In the fall of 2022, a Princeton University graduate student named Carolina Figueiredo stumbled onto a massive coincidence.Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024
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
Noun
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There was also the larger error of anointing Harris without political competition — an insult to the democratic process that handed the nomination to a candidate who, as some of us warned at the time, was exceptionally weak.Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
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Recent polling from the Free Press had indicated that Harris appeared to have a slight, 3-percentage-point lead on Trump in Michigan, though that was within the poll's 4-percentage-point margin of error.Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near screwup
Cite this Entry
“Screwup.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/screwup. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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