Meanings
plural screwups · alternative screw-up
- colloquialA substantial mistake, usually causing problems for more people than just the person or group who made it.
The Ford administration emerged in better shape than it deserved from the fantastic screw-up that preceded the release of the Rockefeller...
1977, John Osborne, White House watch: the Ford years, page 147Synonyms: fuckup, aberration, bloomer, blooper, blunder, boner, boo-boo, break
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA substantial mistake, usually causing problems for more people than just the person or group who made it.
nounA person who often makes substantial mistakes; a bungler.
nounA person who is mentally or emotionally damaged.
Origin
Deverbal from screw up.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans knaterflater
- knaterflatersubstantial mistake
Esperanto fuŝo, fuŝulo
- fuŝosubstantial mistake
- fuŝuloperson who often makes substantial mistakes
- fuŝistoperson who often makes substantial mistakes
Finnish moka, möhläys
- mokasubstantial mistake
- möhläyssubstantial mistake
- tunarointisubstantial mistake
- tunariperson who often makes substantial mistakes
- sössijäperson who often makes substantial mistakes
- möhlijäperson who often makes substantial mistakes
- ryssijäperson who often makes substantial mistakes
German Versager
- Versagerperson who often makes substantial mistakes
Polish fuszerka, partanina
- fuszerkasubstantial mistake
- partaninasubstantial mistake
- patałachperson who often makes substantial mistakes
- niedojdaperson who often makes substantial mistakes
Portuguese vacilo, vacilão
- vacilosubstantial mistake
- vacilãoperson who often makes substantial mistakes
Cite this entry
screwup. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screwup
“screwup.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screwup. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “screwup,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screwup.
Source: screwup on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.