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to mess up
[phrase form: mess]
01
to make a mistake or error, causing a situation or task to become disorganized, confused, or unsuccessful
Grammatical Information
Composition
phrasal
Action verb
Regular
Separable
Particle
up
Base verb
mess
Present tense
mess up
3rd person singular
messes up
Present participle
messing up
Past simple
messed up
Past participle
messed up
Examples
If you do n't pay attention, you might mess up the experiment.
02
to make a place untidy or disorganized
Examples
Every time my little sister plays in my room, she manages to mess it up.
03
to disrupt or disturb the orderliness of a situation, process, or arrangement
Examples
The sudden change in the schedule really messed up our meeting arrangements.
04
to disrupt or cause someone to make mistakes in a task by being distracting or displaying annoying behavior
Examples
His constant interruptions really messed me up during the important presentation.
05
to severely affect someone's mental and emotional well-being
Examples
The traumatic experience really messed her up, and she struggled with anxiety and depression afterward.
06
to cause someone harm through physical violence
Examples
I saw the fight, and it looked like he really wanted to mess him up with those punches.
