screwup

or screw-up

[ skroo-uhp ]

/ ˈskruˌʌp /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR screwup ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Slang.

a mistake or blunder: The package was delayed through an addressing screwup.

a habitual blunderer.

Origin of screwup

1955–60; Americanism; noun use of verb phrase screw up

Words nearby screwup

screwball, screwdriver, screwed, screwhead, screwplate, screwup, screwworm, screwworm fly, screwy, scriabin, scribble

Definition for screw up (2 of 2)

screw

[ skroo ]

/ skru /

noun

a metal fastener having a tapered shank with a helical thread, and topped with a slotted head, driven into wood or the like by rotating, especially by means of a screwdriver.

a threaded cylindrical pin or rod with a head at one end, engaging a threaded hole and used either as a fastener or as a simple machine for applying power, as in a clamp, jack, etc. Compare bolt¹(def 3).

British. a tapped or threaded hole.

something having a spiral form.

screw propeller.

Usually screws. physical or mental coercion: The terrified debtor soon felt the gangster's screws.

a single turn of a screw.

a twist, turn, or twisting movement.

Chiefly British.

a little salt, sugar, tobacco, etc., carried in a twist of paper.
Slang. a mean, old, or worn-out horse; a horse from which one can obtain no further service.
Slang. a friend or employer from whom one can obtain no more money.
Slang. a miser.

British Informal. salary; wages.

Slang. a prison guard.

Slang: Vulgar.

an act of coitus.
a person viewed as a sexual partner.

verb (used with object)

to fasten, tighten, force, press, stretch tight, etc., by or as if by means of a screw or device operated by a screw or helical threads.

to operate or adjust by a screw, as a press.

to attach with a screw or screws: to screw a bracket to a wall.

to insert, fasten, undo, or work (a screw, bolt, nut, bottle top with a helical thread, etc.) by turning.

to contort as by twisting; distort (often followed by up): Dad screwed his face into a grimace of disgust.

to cause to become sufficiently strong or intense (usually followed by up): I screwed up my courage to ask for a raise.

to coerce or threaten.

to extract or extort.

to force (a seller) to lower a price (often followed by down).

Slang. to cheat or take advantage of (someone).

Slang: Vulgar. to have coitus with.

verb (used without object)

to turn as or like a screw.

to be adapted for being connected, taken apart, opened, or closed by means of a screw or screws or parts with helical threads (usually followed by on, together, or off): This top screws on easily.

to turn or move with a twisting or rotating motion.

to practice extortion.

Slang: Vulgar. to have coitus.

Verb Phrases

screw around, Slang.

to waste time in foolish or frivolous activity: If you'd stop screwing around we could get this job done.
Vulgar. to engage in promiscuous sex.

screw off, Slang.

to do nothing; loaf.
to leave; go away.

screw up, Slang.

to ruin through bungling or stupidity: Somehow the engineers screwed up the entire construction project.
to make a botch of something; blunder: Sorry, I guess I screwed up.
to make confused, anxious, or neurotic: Losing your job can really screw you up.

Origin of screw

1375–1425; late Middle English scrwe, screw(e) (noun); compare Middle French escro(ue) nut, Middle Dutch schrûve, Middle High German schrûbe screw

SYNONYMS FOR screw

20 wring, wrest, force, exact, squeeze.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR screw ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM screw

screw·a·ble, adjective screw·er, noun screw·less, adjective screw·like, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (1 of 2)

screw up

verb (tr, adverb)

to twist out of shape or distort

to summon up or call upon to screw up one's courage

(also intr) informal to mishandle or make a mess (of)

(often passive) informal to cause to become very anxious, confused, or nervous he is really screwed up about his exams

noun screw-up

slang something mishandled or done badly

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (2 of 2)

screw

/ (skruː) /

noun

a device used for fastening materials together, consisting of a threaded and usually tapered shank that has a slotted head by which it may be rotated so as to cut its own thread as it bores through the material

Also called: screw-bolt a threaded cylindrical rod that engages with a similarly threaded cylindrical hole; bolt

a thread in a cylindrical hole corresponding with that on the bolt or screw with which it is designed to engage

anything resembling a screw in shape or spiral form

a twisting movement of or resembling that of a screw

Also called: screw-back billiards snooker

a stroke in which the cue ball recoils or moves backward after striking the object ball, made by striking the cue ball below its centre
the motion resulting from this stroke

another name for propeller (def. 1)

slang a prison guard

British slang salary, wages, or earnings

British a small amount of salt, tobacco, etc, in a twist of paper

slang a person who is mean with money

slang an old, unsound, or worthless horse

(often plural) slang force or compulsion (esp in the phrase put the screws on)

slang sexual intercourse

have a screw loose informal to be insane

turn the screw or tighten the screw slang to increase the pressure

verb

(tr) to rotate (a screw or bolt) so as to drive it into or draw it out of a material

(tr) to cut a screw thread in (a rod or hole) with a tap or die or on a lathe

to turn or cause to turn in the manner of a screw

(tr) to attach or fasten with a screw or screws

(tr) informal to take advantage of; cheat

(tr often foll by up) to distort or contort he screwed his face into a scowl

Also: screw back to impart a screw to (a ball)

(tr, often foll by from or out of) to coerce or force out of; extort

slang to have sexual intercourse (with)

(tr) slang to burgle

have one's head screwed on or have one's head screwed on the right way informal to be wise or sensible

Derived forms of screw

screwer, noun screwlike, adjective

Word Origin for screw

C15: from French escroe, from Medieval Latin scrōfa screw, from Latin: sow, presumably because the thread of the screw is like the spiral of the sow's tail

usage for screw

The use of this otherwise utilitarian word in a sexual sense, though recorded in an 18th century slang dictionary, does not appear to have really taken off until well into the 20th. Although a classic example of the anatomical metaphor for the sex act seen from the male point of view, it can be used as a transitive verb by women, which suggests that the metaphor is all but dead

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (1 of 2)

screw up

Muster or summon up; see pluck up one's courage.

Make a mess of an undertaking; also, make a mistake, as in I really screwed up this report, or She said she was sorry, admitting that she had screwed up. Some authorities believe this usage is a euphemism for fuck up. [Slang; c. 1940]

Injure, damage, as in I screwed up my back lifting all those heavy books. [Slang]

Make neurotic or anxious, as in Her family really screwed her up, but her therapist has helped her a lot. [Slang; mid-1900s]

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (2 of 2)

screw

In addition to the idioms beginning with screw

screw around
screw loose
screw someone out of
screw up
screw up one's courage
screw you

also see:

have a screw loose
pluck (screw) up one's courage
tighten the screws
turn up the heat (put the screws on)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

screwup

or screw-up

noun Slang.

Origin of screwup

Words nearby screwup

Definition for screw up (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of screw

SYNONYMS FOR screw

OTHER WORDS FROM screw

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

noun screw-up

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of screw

Word Origin for screw

usage for screw

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

screwup

or screw-up

noun Slang.

Origin of screwup

Words nearby screwup

Definition for screw up (2 of 2)

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of screw

SYNONYMS FOR screw

OTHER WORDS FROM screw

Words related to screw up

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

noun screw-up

British Dictionary definitions for screw up (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of screw

Word Origin for screw

usage for screw

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with screw up (2 of 2)