mess up
Third Person
messes up
Present Participle
messing up
Past Tense
messed up
Past Participle
messed up
1
to make a mistake or error, causing a situation or task to become disorganized, confused, or unsuccessful
- If you don't pay attention, you might mess up the experiment.
- They messed up the schedule by double-booking appointments.
- The new employee sometimes messes up the data entry tasks.
- He messed up the calculations, resulting in financial discrepancies.
- I accidentally used salt instead of sugar and completely messed up the cake recipe.
2
to make a place untidy or disorganized
- Every time my little sister plays in my room, she manages to mess it up.
- Be careful not to mess the kitchen up when you're cooking.
- The team was messing up the workspace during the late-night brainstorming session.
- The storm has messed up the backyard, scattering leaves and debris.
- Someone has messed up the storage room; it needs to be organized.
Synonyms:
3
to disrupt or disturb the orderliness of a situation, process, or arrangement
- The sudden change in the schedule really messed up our meeting arrangements.
- His late arrival completely messed up the planned order of the agenda.
- The airline's cancellation messed up our travel plans, and we had to rearrange everything.
- Accidentally deleting important files can mess the entire system up.
- Last-minute changes in the guest list can mess up the seating arrangements at the wedding.
4
to disrupt or cause someone to make mistakes in a task by being distracting or displaying annoying behavior
- His constant interruptions really messed me up during the important presentation.
- I asked my friend to stop chatting because it was messing me up while I was trying to solve the math problems.
- The unexpected interruption messed up our rhythm during the crucial part of the match.
- She tries to avoid the office gossip; it always messes her up and affects her productivity.
5
to severely affect someone's mental and emotional well-being
- The traumatic experience really messed her up, and she struggled with anxiety and depression afterward.
- Constant bullying during childhood can mess a person up emotionally, leading to long-term mental health issues.
- The emotional abuse she endured in her past relationships really messed her up, affecting her self-esteem.
- Enduring an emotionally abusive relationship can mess up a person, making it difficult to trust others.
- A toxic work environment can mess employees up emotionally, affecting their overall mental health and productivity.
6
to cause someone harm through physical violence
- I saw the fight, and it looked like he really wanted to mess him up with those punches.
- He was so angry that he threatened to mess up anyone who crossed his path.
- The bully tried to mess up the smaller kid, but others intervened to stop the fight.
- The bar fight escalated, and soon both parties were trying to mess each other up.
- The bullies threatened to mess him up if he didn't give them his lunch money.