mess up

mess-up

[mes-uhp]
noun
a blunder; state of confusion; mix-up.
Origin:
1900–05; noun use of verb phrase mess up

Dictionary.com Unabridged

mess

[mes]
noun
1.
a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition: The room was in a mess.
2.
a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered.
3.
a state of embarrassing confusion: My affairs are in a mess.
4.
an unpleasant or difficult situation: She got into a mess driving without a license.
5.
a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble: a mess of papers.
6.
a group regularly taking their meals together.
7.
the meal so taken.
8.
mess hall.
9.
Naval. messroom.
10.
a quantity of food sufficient for a dish or a single occasion: to pick a mess of sweet corn for dinner.
11.
a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food.
12.
a dish or quantity of soft or liquid food: to cook up a nice mess of pottage.
13.
a person whose life or affairs are in a state of confusion, especially a person with a confused or disorganized moral or psychological outlook.
verb (used with object)
14.
to make dirty or untidy (often followed by up ): Don't mess the room.
15.
to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.) (often followed by up ): They messed the deal.
16.
to supply with meals, as military personnel.
17.
to treat roughly; beat up (usually followed by up ): The gang messed him up.
verb (used without object)
18.
to eat in company, especially as a member of a mess.
19.
to make a dirty or untidy mess.
Verb phrases
20.
mess aroundabout,
a.
Informal. to busy oneself without purpose or plan; work aimlessly or halfheartedly; putter.
b.
Informal. to waste time; loaf.
c.
Informal. to meddle or interfere.
d.
Informal. to involve or associate oneself, especially for immoral or unethical purposes: His wife accused him of messing around with gamblers.
e.
Slang. to trifle sexually; philander.
21.
mess inwith, to intervene officiously; meddle: You'll get no thanks for messing in the affairs of others.
22.
mess up,
a.
to make dirty, untidy, or disordered.
b.
to make muddled, confused, etc.; make a mess of; spoil; botch.
c.
to perform poorly; bungle: She messed up on the final exam.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English mes < Old French: a course at a meal < Late Latin missus what is sent (i.e., put on the table), noun use of past participle of Latin mittere to send

Synonyms
3. muddle, farrago, hodgepodge. 4. predicament, plight, muddle, pickle. 15. confuse, mix up.

Antonyms
1. tidiness. 3. order. 15. arrange.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Mess up is always a great word to know.
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a fool or simpleton; ninny.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
mess (mɛs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  a state of confusion or untidiness, esp if dirty or unpleasant: the house was in a mess
2.  a chaotic or troublesome state of affairs; muddle: his life was a mess
3.  informal a dirty or untidy person or thing
4.  archaic a portion of food, esp soft or semiliquid food
5.  a place where service personnel eat or take recreation: an officers' mess
6.  a group of people, usually servicemen, who eat together
7.  the meal so taken
8.  mess of pottage a material gain involving the sacrifice of a higher value
 
—vb (often foll by up) (often foll by with)
9.  to muddle or dirty
10.  (intr) to make a mess
11.  to interfere; meddle
12.  (intr; often foll by with or together) military to group together, esp for eating
 
[C13: from Old French mes dish of food, from Late Latin missus course (at table), from Latin mittere to send forth, set out]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mess
c.1300, "food for one meal, pottage," from O.Fr. mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from L.L. missus "course at dinner," lit. "placing, putting (on a table, etc.)," from mittere "to put, place," from L. mittere "to send, let go" (see mission). Sense of "mixed food"
led to contemptuous use for "jumble, mixed mass" (1828), and figurative sense of "state of confusion" (1834), as well as "condition of untidiness" (1851). Meaning "communal eating place"(esp. a military one) is first attested 1530s, from earlier sense of "company of persons eating together" (early 15c.), originally a group of four. To mess with "interfere, get involved" is from 1903; mess up "make a mistake, get in trouble" is from 1933, both originally Amer.Eng. colloquial.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

mess definition


  1. n.
    a hopeless, stupid person. : The guy's a mess!
  2. n.
    dung. (Usually with a.) : There's a mess in Jimmy's diapers, Mom.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

mess (so) up definition


  1. tv.
    to beat someone up. (Underworld.) : The boss says me and the boys is supposed to mess you up a little.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

mess up definition


  1. in.
    to make an error; to do something wrong; to flub (up). : I hope I don't mess up on the quiz.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Mess definition


a portion of food given to a guest (Gen. 43:34; 2 Sam. 11:8).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

mess up

  1. Create disorder in; muddle or ruin. For example, On rainy days the children really mess up the house, or He had a way of messing up his own business. [c. 1900]

  2. Make a mistake, especially from nervousness or confusion, as in He messed up and took the wrong dossier to the meeting, or Jill swore she would never mess up again. [Colloquial; early 1900s]

  3. Beat up, manhandle, as in Joe got messed up in a barroom brawl. [Slang; early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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