Phrasal Verbs

mess up

This page is about the phrasal verb mess up

INFORMAL

Meaning

to do something incorrectly, or to make a mistake

Synonym

muck up (informal), screw up (informal)

For example

  • mess up sth Joe has messed up the invitations to our product launch. He put the wrong date on them.

  • mess sth up My daughter had her driver's licence test yesterday, but she messed it up so she'll have to do it again.

  • mess up Sarah's been making a lot of mistakes recently. If she messes up again, she might lose her job.

Quick Quiz

If you're cooking something and you mess it up, it'll probably

a. be delicious

b. make people sick

c. taste a bit strange
a) be delicious b) make people sick c) taste a bit strange

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1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context

Contributor: Matt Errey