mix up

noun

a confused state of things; muddle; tangle.

a fight.

Origin:
1835–45; noun use of verb phrase mix up

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used with object)

to combine (substances, elements, things, etc.) into one mass, collection, or assemblage, generally with a thorough blending of the constituents.

to put together indiscriminately or confusedly (often followed by up ).

to combine, unite, or join: to mix business and pleasure.

to add as an element or ingredient: Mix some salt into the flour.

to form or make by combining ingredients: to mix a cake; to mix mortar.

to crossbreed.

Movies.

to combine, blend, edit, etc. (the various components of a soundtrack): to mix dialogue and sound effects.

to complete the mixing process on (a film, soundtrack, etc.): an important movie that took months to mix.

to combine (two or more separate recordings or microphone signals) to make a single recording or composite signal.

verb (used without object)

to become mixed: a paint that mixes easily with water.

10.

to associate or mingle, as in company: to mix with the other guests at a party.

11.

to be crossbred, or of mixed breeding.

12.

Boxing. to exchange blows vigorously and aggressively: The crowd jeered as the fighters clinched, refusing to mix.

noun

13.

an act or instance of mixing.

14.

the result of mixing; mixture: cement mix; an odd mix of gaiety and sadness.

15.

a commercially prepared blend of ingredients to which usually only a liquid must be added to make up the total of ingredients necessary or obtain the desired consistency: a cake mix; muffin mix.

16.

mixer ( def 4 ).

17.

the proportion of ingredients in a mixture; formula: a mix of two to one.

18.

Informal. a mess or muddle; mix-up.

19.

Music. an electronic blending of tracks or sounds made to produce a recording.

Verb phrases

20.

mix down, to mix the tracks of an existing recording to make a new recording with fewer tracks: the four-track tape was mixed down to stereo.

21.

mix up,

to confuse completely, especially to mistake one person or thing for another: The teacher was always mixing up the twins.

to involve or entangle.

Idioms

22.

mix it up, Slang.

to engage in a quarrel.

to fight with the fists.

Also, mix it.

Origin:
1470–80; back formation from mixt mixed

Related forms

mix·a·ble, adjective

mix·a·bil·i·ty, mix·a·ble·ness, noun

o·ver·mix, verb

un·mix, verb (used with object)

un·mix·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1, 9. commingle, jumble, unite, amalgamate, fuse. Mix, blend, combine, mingle concern the bringing of two or more things into more or less intimate association. Mix is the general word for such association: to mix fruit juices. Blend implies such a harmonious joining of two or more types of colors, feelings, etc., that the new product formed displays some of the qualities of each: to blend fragrances or whiskeys. Combine implies such a close or intimate union that distinction between the parts is lost: to combine forces. Mingle usually suggests retained identity of the parts: to mingle voices. 9. coalesce. 14. concoction; formula.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To mix up

00:10

Mix up is always a great word to know.

So is doohickey. Does it mean:

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

mix (mɪks)

—vb (often foll by with)
1.	(tr) to combine or blend (ingredients, liquids, objects, etc) together into one mass
2.	(intr) to become or have the capacity to become combined, joined, etc: some chemicals do not mix
3.	(tr) to form (something) by combining two or more constituents: to mix cement
4.	(tr; often foll by in or into) to add as an additional part or element (to a mass or compound): to mix flour into a batter
5.	(tr) to do at the same time; combine: to mix study and pleasure
6.	(tr) to consume (drinks or foods) in close succession
7.	to come or cause to come into association socially: Pauline has never mixed well
8.	to go together; complement
9.	(tr) to crossbreed (differing strains of plants or breeds of livestock), esp more or less at random
10.	(tr) electronics to combine (two or more signals)
11.	music
	a. (in sound recording) to balance and adjust (the recorded tracks) on a multitrack tape machine
	b. (in live performance) to balance and adjust (the output levels from microphones and pick-ups)
12.	(tr) to merge (two lengths of film) so that the effect is imperceptible
13.	informal mix it
	a. to cause mischief or trouble, often for a person named: she tried to mix it for John
	b. to fight

—n
14.	the act or an instance of mixing
15.	the result of mixing; mixture
16.	a mixture of ingredients, esp one commercially prepared for making a cake, bread, etc
17.	music the sound obtained by mixing
18.	building trades, civil engineering the proportions of cement, sand, and aggregate in mortar, plaster, or concrete
19.	informal a state of confusion, bewilderment

[C15: back formation from mixt mixed, via Old French from Latin mixtus, from miscēre to mix]

'mixable

—*adj*

mixa'bility

—n

mix-up

—n
1.	a confused condition or situation
2.	informal a fight

—vb (foll by in or with; usually passive)
3.	to make into a mixture: to mix up ingredients
4.	to confuse or confound: Tom mixes John up with Bill
5.	(often passive) to put (someone) into a state of confusion: I'm all mixed up
6.	to involve (in an activity or group, esp one that is illegal): why did you get mixed up in that drugs racket?
7.	informal (US), (Canadian) mix it up to fight

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

mix

1530s, back-formation from M.E. myxte (late 15c.), from Anglo-Fr. mixte, from L. mixtus, pp. of miscere "to mix," from PIE *meik- "to mix" (cf. Skt. misrah "mixed," Gk. misgein "to mix, mingle," O.C.S. meso, mesiti "to mix," Rus. meshat, Lith. maisau "to mix, mingle," Welsh mysgu). Also borrowed in O.E.

as miscian. The noun is attested from 1580s. Mixed marriage is from 1698 (originally in a religious context; racial sense was in use by 1942 in U.S., though mixed breed in ref. to mulattoes is found by 1775). Mixed bag "heterogeneous collection" is from 1936. Mixed up "confused" is from 1862; mix-up "confusion" first recorded 1898.

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

MIX
multiservice interchange

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

mix up

Confuse, confound, as in His explanation just mixed me up even more, or I always mix up the twins. [c. 1800]
Involve or implicate. This usage is usually put in the passive, as in He got mixed up with the wrong crowd. [Mid-1800s]

Matching Quote

"In asking forgiveness of women for our mythologizing of their bodies, for being unreal about them, we can only appeal to their own sexuality, which is different but not basically different, perhaps, from our own. For women, too, there seems to be that tangle of supplication and possessiveness, that descent toward infantile undifferentiation, that omnipotent helplessness, that merger with the cosmic mother-warmth, that flushed pulse- quickened leap into overestimation, projection, general mix-up."

-John Updike

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