to fuck up
203
9.9
- phrasal verb
- /fʌk ʌp/
- Offensive
:
cagarla
- I really fucked up that presentation by forgetting all my notes.
- sorry I fucked up
- I fucked up again
- completely fucked up
Diddy, Who else did you fuck up in the game?
- Diddy, Who else did you fuck up in the game?
- When you make those mistakes and you fuck up, you can't get discouraged.
- It's six people that think you're fucking up, but that doesn't mean you suck.
Examples
-
If you don't fuck up, you can be here, raking it in, for life.
Fiction book (1992) -
I figure you came to court to make sure I didn't fuck this up.
Fiction book (1997) -
Believe me, I know what it's like to fuck things up with a woman and to get stuck with a kid on top of it.
-
When you fuck up in here, you go to the Box.
Academic text (2003) -
I fucked up really bad.
-
"I'm the one who fucked up, so I know I have to pay the price.
Academic text (2003) -
"The cop who took the complaint fucked it up, and now the others are covering for him.
Fiction book (1996) -
Lester gives Ginger a 'how did you fuck this up?' look.
Fiction book (1995) -
When you make those mistakes and you fuck up, you can't get discouraged.
-
Because I fucked up!
Synonyms
641
6.3
To make a mistake that ruins what you are doing
597
2.8
To make a mistake that causes a problem
80
2.8
To make something less good or enjoyable
65
2.7
To make people confused and things messy
63
6.0
To do something badly and spoil the result
37
9.9
To do something badly and ruin how it turns out
27
4.9
Make a mistake or cause someone else to make one
20
4.9
Deal with something badly so it causes problems or damage
19
3.5
To do something clumsily and make a mistake
17
5.6
To make a silly or careless mistake
16
6.8
To do something clumsily so it causes mistakes
9
9.9
Make a very bad mistake because you are not careful
8
6.4
To make a mistake that ruins something because you are careless
5
8.2
To fail to catch or handle something because you are clumsy
5
7.6
To ruin something by making mistakes or doing it badly
4
8.1
To make a mess of a plan or task by doing it badly
2
6.8
To make an embarrassing mistake because you are careless or nervous
2
5.4
To make a mistake especially by forgetting words on stage
2
6.7
Do a job badly and make a mess of it
1
9.9
To cause a lot of damage and chaos to a place or thing
1
7.9
To do something badly and ruin how it turns out
1
9.9
To do something so badly that it fails
1
9.9
To ruin something by making a mistake or being careless
To ruin something completely by making serious mistakes
To spoil or ruin something by making a careless mistake
To ruin something by doing it badly
Do a job badly so it does not work
To do something badly and make it fail
To ruin something by a careless mistake
Antonyms
How Bad
∞
2.0
- Offensive
203
9.9
- Informal
597
2.8
- Informal
2
6.8
- Informal
27
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
fuck + up
The particle 'up' contributes a sense of completion/intensification and the verb 'fuck' has colloquial extensions meaning to damage or treat something badly, so there is a clear relation between the constituents and the MWE meaning. However, the sense is metaphorical, vulgar, and not a straightforward compositional meaning a B1 learner would reliably derive without prior exposure, so it sits between compositional and idiomatic.
Etymology
Fuck up probably comes from using fuck to mean 'to mess up or damage' and adding up to show the action is complete. So the picture is of someone doing something so badly they totally ruin it, which is why the phrase means 'to make a serious mistake or ruin something'.