Meanings
oops1
- informalUsed to acknowledge a small mistake or accident.
Oops! I left the lid off the ketchup.
1 more example
Oops, I did it again / I played with your heart, got lost in the game
2000, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, “Oops!… I Did It Again”, in Oops!… I Did It Again, performed by Britney SpearsSynonyms: oopsy, uh-oh, whoops, whoops-a-daisy
plural oopses
- A minor mistake or unforeseen difficulty.
It's an oops, but one that's your fault, not your puppy's.
2011, Housetraining, →ISBN, page 143 more examples
Every plan and every activity has an “oops.” Oops, we forgot to..., oops, who was supposed to do that? We all have experienced “oopses”.
2013, Bruce Tucker, Leadership at the Crossroads, →ISBNIsn't she the same woman who works at Wings that you and Billy almost got arrested for helping her with her last little oops?
2014, Al Rennie, Clearwater Oops!, →ISBNMy parents had moved to this house, which sat on the border of Corktown and Mexicantown, from their tiny apartment in Ann Arbor—once they found out that their little oops was actually two little oops.
2015, Dawn Klehr, If You Wrong Us, →ISBN
present singular third person oopses · participle present oopsing · participle past oopsed · past oopsed
OOPS2
- abbreviationAbbreviation of object-oriented programming system.
OOPs3
- pluralplural of OOP
- indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of OOP
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionUsed to acknowledge a small mistake or accident.
interjectionUsed to indicate mild surprise or shock.
Origin
A presumably 'natural' exclamation, attested in writing since 1921. Related to or a variation of whoops (itself attested since 1933). A shortening of whoops-a-daisy, whoopsie-daisy, or oops-a-daisy, which in turn is a mispronunciation of ups-a-daisy or upsy-daisy.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic آهٍ
- آهٍ (ʔāhin)acknowledging a minor mistake
Catalan vaja
- vajaacknowledging a minor mistake
Chinese Mandarin 哎呀, 啊哈
- 哎呀 (āiyā, āiyá)acknowledging a minor mistake
- 啊哈 (āhā)acknowledging a minor mistake
Czech jejda
- jejdaacknowledging a minor mistake
Danish ups, hovsa
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- hovsaacknowledging a minor mistake
Dutch oeps, oei
- oepsacknowledging a minor mistake
- oeiacknowledging a minor mistake
- aiacknowledging a minor mistake
- amaaiacknowledging a minor mistake
- oepsused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- oeiused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Esperanto ups, oj
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- ojacknowledging a minor mistake
Finnish ups, oho
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- ohoacknowledging a minor mistake
- hupsacknowledging a minor mistake
- upsistaacknowledging a minor mistake
- hupsisacknowledging a minor mistake
- hupsistaacknowledging a minor mistake
- upsused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- ohoused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
French oups, houp!
- oupsacknowledging a minor mistake
- houp!acknowledging a minor mistake
German ups, huch
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- huchacknowledging a minor mistake
- hopplaacknowledging a minor mistake
Greek ουπς
- ουπς (oups)acknowledging a minor mistake
Hebrew אוּפְּס, אוֹישׁ
- אוּפְּס (úps)acknowledging a minor mistake
- אוֹישׁ (óysh)acknowledging a minor mistake
- אֲהָהּ (aháh)acknowledging a minor mistake
- וַוי (wáy)acknowledging a minor mistake
- וַואי (wáy)acknowledging a minor mistake
- אוֹי (óy)acknowledging a minor mistake
- אוֹי וַאֲבוֹי (óy va'avóy)acknowledging a minor mistake
- אוֹיָה (oyá)acknowledging a minor mistake
- חֲבָל (khavál)acknowledging a minor mistake
- פָדִיחָה (fadíkha)acknowledging a minor mistake
Hungarian hoppá, hopp
- hoppáacknowledging a minor mistake
- hoppacknowledging a minor mistake
- ajjajacknowledging a minor mistake
- hoppákaused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Icelandic úps, æ
- úpsacknowledging a minor mistake
- æacknowledging a minor mistake
- obbosíacknowledging a minor mistake
Indonesian ups
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
Irish hoips, úps
- hoipsacknowledging a minor mistake
- úpsacknowledging a minor mistake
Italian ups, ops
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- opsacknowledging a minor mistake
Japanese おっと, しまった
- おっと (otto)acknowledging a minor mistake
- しまった (shimatta)acknowledging a minor mistake
- あら (ara)acknowledging a minor mistake
- おや (oya)acknowledging a minor mistake
- あらら (arara)acknowledging a minor mistake
- はあ (hā)acknowledging a minor mistake
- おっと (otto)used sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- あら (ara)used sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Korean 아차
- 아차 (acha)acknowledging a minor mistake
Malay oop, oop
- oopacknowledging a minor mistake
- oopused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Polish oj, ups
- ojacknowledging a minor mistake
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- ojused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- upsused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Portuguese opa, ops
- opaacknowledging a minor mistake
- opsacknowledging a minor mistake
Romanian ups
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
Russian ой, упс
- ой (oj)acknowledging a minor mistake
- упс (ups)acknowledging a minor mistake
- ох (ox)acknowledging a minor mistake
- ой (oj)used sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- упс (ups)used sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Spanish uy, vaya
- uyacknowledging a minor mistake
- vayaacknowledging a minor mistake
- opsacknowledging a minor mistake
- upsacknowledging a minor mistake
- huyacknowledging a minor mistake
- epaacknowledging a minor mistake
- oh ohused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Swedish hoppsan, oj
- hoppsanacknowledging a minor mistake
- ojacknowledging a minor mistake
Tagalog ay
- ayacknowledging a minor mistake
Turkish ay, hop
- ayacknowledging a minor mistake
- hopacknowledging a minor mistake
- eyvahacknowledging a minor mistake
- hoppalaacknowledging a minor mistake
- amanacknowledging a minor mistake
- tühused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
- ayused sarcastically to acknowledge a major mistake
Ukrainian ой
- ой (oj)acknowledging a minor mistake
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with oops
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
oops. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oops
“oops.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oops. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oops,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oops.
Source: oops on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.