trip up
To trick someone into making a mistake, or to make a mistake yourself because of a tricky problem.
Meanings
To cause someone to make a mistake, especially by asking a difficult or trick question.
"The interviewer tried to trip up the candidate with a question about a gap in her résumé."
To make a mistake yourself, especially an unexpected one caused by a difficulty you didn't see coming.
"She was doing well in the test but tripped up on the last question."
To cause someone to physically stumble or fall by catching their feet.
"The defender tripped up the striker just inside the penalty area."
The transitive sense ('she tripped me up') is common in exam and interview contexts. The intransitive sense ('I tripped up') implies making an unexpected mistake. Also used physically, but the figurative use is more frequent in contemporary English.
Commonly used with
Forms
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Synonyms
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