screw up

Verb

screw up (third-person singular simple present screws up, present participle screwing up, simple past and past participle screwed up)

1. (transitive) To tighten or secure with screws.
2. (transitive) To raise by turning a rotary handle.
   • A crunch on the gravel brought me back to the present. A triffid came swaying down the drive toward the gate. I leaned across and screwed up the window.1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 78
3. (transitive) To raise (rent, fees, etc.) to extortionate levels.
   • As far as was possible he kept his subjects as mindless fighting-cocks, troops that could be promised to one power if there was a chance of screwing up another power to a bigger subsidy.1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 1052
4. (transitive) To raise or summon up.
   • trying to screw up enough courage to ask her out
5. (transitive) To twist into a contorted state.
   • The baby screwed up his face and began to bawl.
   • “Where’s the man with the trumpet?” Ralph, sensing his sun-blindness, answered him. “There’s no man with a trumpet. Only me.” The boy came close and peered down at Ralph, screwing up his face as he did so.1954, William Golding, chapter 1, in Lord of the Flies, Penguin
6. (dated, transitive) To squint.
   • As they were finishing breakfast came the postman with a letter from Derby. Mrs. Morel screwed up her eyes to look at the address.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 8”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC
   • [...] Hands deep in pockets, head aslant,
     And eyes screwed up against the light [...]1919, Richard Aldington, A Village
7. (colloquial, transitive) To make a mess of; to ruin.
   • Don't screw this up! You've gotta be a part of this too.2007 March 16, Capcom Production Studio 4, quoting Trilo, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, Europe: Capcom, →OCLC, Nintendo DS, scene: Part 3: Investigation, Circus Entrance...
   • “Why shouldn't it be my fault, right? I screwed up my kid. I screwed up my marriage. I screwed up my fucking life. We don't need to beat around the bush.” He smirked, shook his head.2015, Ania Ahlborn, Within These Walls, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 147
8. (colloquial, intransitive) To blunder; to make a mistake.
   • Let me finish… you screwed up, but you screwed up for the right reasons. You're going to make mistakes, but it's how you deal with those mistakes, that's going to make the difference.2000, Bob Gookin, The President's Man (television production), spoken by Joshua McCord (Chuck Norris)
   • Still, it may be too soon to conclude that the Fed has royally screwed up.2025 August 2, Bryan Mena, “Did the Fed just royally screw up?”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 20 Aug 2025

   Synonyms:

   blow it, bobble, boob, crap up, miscue, drop a bollock, drop the ball, err, flub, flub up