as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way
I swear, she mucks up everything she tries
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Recent Examples of muck up
Mercury confronting Neptune is mucking up communication.
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USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
The sphere is now rigged to heat and cool things—space gets very hot and very cold—and to handle simulant, which would muck up a standard vacuum system.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2024
The intelligence agents have each mucked up a mission in their own way or are just deemed no longer suitable to work at the Park, MI5's fictional HQ in London's Regent's Park.
—Ellie O'Mahoney, theweek, 6 Sep. 2024
Before 1993, no such rule existed; researchers often excluded women from clinical studies out of fear that their menstrual cycles would muck up the data.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up 
USA TODAY, 25 Sep. 2024
The sphere is now rigged to heat and cool things—space gets very hot and very cold—and to handle simulant, which would muck up a standard vacuum system.
—Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2024
The intelligence agents have each mucked up a mission in their own way or are just deemed no longer suitable to work at the Park, MI5's fictional HQ in London's Regent's Park.
—Ellie O'Mahoney, theweek, 6 Sep. 2024
Before 1993, no such rule existed; researchers often excluded women from clinical studies out of fear that their menstrual cycles would muck up the data.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 12 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for muck up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck up
Verb
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Because all that most people remember is Musk fumbling through lines while dressed as Wario.Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
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Buccaneers recover Rohan Nadkarni Travis Kelce fumbles after a short reception, and the Buccaneers recover!Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 5 Nov. 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
Verb
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Myers nails the realistic teen who is a far cry from the unflappable Nancy Drew, screwing up plenty and often terrified of what she’s gotten herself into.Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 2 Nov. 2024
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My first assumption on the hunt with Walz was that somebody had screwed up, failing to place the birds in the pre-planned locations.Wes Siler, Outside Online, 17 Oct. 2024
Verb
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For just one of 67 counties to use the wrong one could foul up an entire statewide count.Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2024
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See the stunning shot... AIRLINE 'CHAOS' – A flight was canceled after someone fouled up the aircraft amid delays.Fox News Staff, Fox News, 19 Oct. 2023
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
Verb
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Textures load in slowly when the game boots up, and the frame rate frequently drops, even on medium settings.Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2024
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The partnership will also include development of new Grammy-centric music specials and TV productions, according to Disney. Music Recording Academy boots Grammy voters.August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Muck up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck%20up. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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