fuck up
/ˈfʌkˌʌp/
"fuck-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fuck up” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make a mistake, to go wrong.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fuck up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈfʌkˌʌp/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fuck up” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fuck up is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfʌkˌʌp/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for fuck up in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is fuck up, spelled F-U-C-K- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To make a mistake, to go wrong.
- 2To botch or make a mess of.
- 3To injure or damage badly.
- 4To cause someone to become intoxicated or otherwise alter someone's mental state.
- 5To traumatise; to negatively affect the wellbeing of someone.
- 6Synonym of destroy (“to eat food quickly, hungrily or completely”)
- 7Ellipsis of shut the fuck up.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "fuck up"?
What does "fuck up" mean?
How do you pronounce "fuck up"?
What language does "fuck up" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “fuck up”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-U-C-K- -U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfʌkˌʌp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.