as in mistake
an instance of confusion
there was a foul-up with our mail order, and not one item arrived as ordered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
tried not to foul up the football play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trip
to make a mistake
unfortunately, I fouled up and in my e-mail gave everyone the wrong date for the meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of foul-up
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Rather, inflation had arisen from supply chain foul-ups caused by the Covid epidemic, an act of God rendered worse by comic-opera mismanagement under President Donald Trump.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 30 June 2023
Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.
—Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
Noun
That foul-up then gets included in the series of questions and answers, causing the final answer to go askew.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2024
Rather, inflation had arisen from supply chain foul-ups caused by the Covid epidemic, an act of God rendered worse by comic-opera mismanagement under President Donald Trump.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 30 June 2023
Verb
Also, if Utah or Miami were to score an upset in the opening round, St. Louis would have first dibs at taking that team instead of Orlando, which would foul up these predictions completely.
—Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Year-long court battles have been waged over exactly how clean the water in the Everglades has to be without fouling up the whole system.
—Alex Harris
july 3, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for foul-up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foul-up
Noun
-
Instead, recruitment mistakes saw their recent troubles compared to United’s since 2013.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The open availability of this kind of material poses a threat not only to migrants and activists but anyone with a digital footprint, because depending on AI to sort through it will inevitably lead to mistakes.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But Jaylen Petty fumbled the outlet pass after the steal, and UCF (17-4, 6-3 Big 12) recovered to set up Fulks' jumper to go up by two possessions.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The rest of the team was also fumbling, and everyone but Edwards had struggled to score.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Reviewers say that this model’s eco mode outputs just the right amount of heat without tripping your breaker.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The operators likely see green lights and stable voltage readings on their screens even as transformers are overloading and breakers are tripping in the physical world.—
Saman Zonouz,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Despite their compact size, the tags display information openly to prevent luggage mix-ups, and their metal construction draws the eye.—
Danielle Calma,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In February 2020, a gas station in Boulder was not fined following a mix-up with its fuel transfers.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But aerospace engineers at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered a material that blows those two out of the water with nearly thrice the thermal conductivity.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The shuttle just suddenly blew apart.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The sort of challenge that has caused United to stumble in recent times.—
Graham Ruthven,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Stocks had stumbled there in prior days after MSCI, an influential company in the investment industry that creates stock and other indexes, warned about market risks such as a lack of transparency.—
Stan Choe,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
But the confusion only has increased.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Silence on defense leads to confusion.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The climate may get screwed up in new ways as scientists attempt to turn the planet’s temperature dial down.—
Christian Elliott,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
-
What Mager is showing here is the difference between kids and adults, the openness and willingness to be bold and confront things head on with matter-of-fact honesty in a world that is being screwed up by their elders and those in charge.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foul-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foul-up. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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