1 A2 informal
To make something untidy or dirty.
"The kids messed up the living room within five minutes of coming home."
separable
mess up
B1 informal separable transitive/intransitive
To make something untidy, spoil it, or make a mistake.
In plain English
To ruin something or make a mistake, or to make a place untidy.
What does "mess up" mean?
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic informal
To make a mistake or do something badly.
"I totally messed up the presentation — I forgot half my notes."
“
"I messed up."
— Tiger Woods, public apology statement, February 2010
separable
3 B2 idiomatic informal
To cause someone psychological or emotional damage.
"Years of bullying really messed him up; he found it hard to trust anyone."
separable
4 B1 idiomatic informal
To ruin or spoil a plan, situation, or opportunity.
"The rain messed up our plans for an outdoor wedding."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To make a mess and increase the level of disorder — the idiomatic extension to mistakes and ruin is very natural.
Actually means
To ruin something or make a mistake, or to make a place untidy.
Usage tip
Extremely common in everyday American and British English. Used for both physical disorder ('mess up a room') and mistakes ('mess up an exam'). Also used for psychological harm ('messed up by childhood trauma'). 'Messed up' as an adjective means broken, wrong, or psychologically damaged.
Words that pair with "mess up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
room hair plan exam everything relationship
How to conjugate "mess up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
mess up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
messes up
he/she/it
Past simple
messed up
yesterday
Past participle
messed up
have + pp
-ing form
messing up
continuous
Hear "mess up" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "mess up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Other ways to say "mess up"
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Keep exploring
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