screw up

Definitions

1. 1

   To tighten or secure with screws.

2. 2

   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.
3. 3

   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.
4. ›+ 5 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To raise or summon up.

      • trying to screw up enough courage to ask her out
   2. 5

      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.
      • “I asked her if she and your father were related, and she explained who she was. To my eyes, they could be twins!” Gilbert and Auntie Flip Frank screwed up his face. “You think so?”
   3. 6

      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.
      • [...] Hands deep in pockets, head aslant, And eyes screwed up against the light [...]
   4. 7

      To make a mess of

      To make a mess of; to ruin.

      • Don't screw this up! You've gotta be a part of this too.
      • “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.
      • Don’t screw this up.” That’s what Bandcamp CEO Ethan Diamond hears over and over again from artists and labels about the company he founded in 2008.
   5. 8

      To blunder

      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.
      • Still, it may be too soon to conclude that the Fed has royally screwed up.

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