fuck up

/ˈfʌkˌʌp/

//ˈfʌkˌʌp// verb

"fuck-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fuck up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make a mistake, to go wrong.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fuck-up · fuck up · English

fuck up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for fuck up
PropertyValue
Headwordfuck up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfʌkˌʌp/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fuck up” in English

fuck upsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fuck up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈfʌkˌʌp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

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

  1. 1
    To make a mistake, to go wrong.
  2. 2
    To botch or make a mess of.
  3. 3
    To injure or damage badly.
  4. 4
    To cause someone to become intoxicated or otherwise alter someone's mental state.
  5. 5
    To traumatise; to negatively affect the wellbeing of someone.
  6. 6
    Synonym of destroy (“to eat food quickly, hungrily or completely”)
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of shut the fuck up.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fuck up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You really fucked up this time.
  2. Don't you fuck up again.

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"?
"fuck up" is spelled F-U-C-K- -U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfʌkˌʌp/.
What does "fuck up" mean?
As a verb, "fuck up" means: To make a mistake, to go wrong.
How do you pronounce "fuck up"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fuck up" is /ˈfʌkˌʌp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fuck up" come from?
"fuck up" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list