slip-up

[ slip-uhp ]

noun

1. a mistake, blunder, or oversight:

   Several slip-ups caused a delay in the delivery of the books.

   Synonyms: bungle, lapse, error

slip up

verb

1. informal.
   to make a blunder or mistake; err
2. to fall over

   he slipped up in the street

noun

1. informal.
   a mistake, blunder, or mishap

Word History and Origins

Origin of slip-up¹

First recorded in 1850–55; noun use of verb phrase slip up

Idioms and Phrases

Make a mistake, blunder, as in I slipped up and gave the invitations to the wrong people . [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Second, toxic masculinity isn't a slip-up or a gaffe.

From Salon

It seems this was a slip-up because Vance then tried to spin his own gaffe the way he spins Trump's various nutty comments, arguing with Bash about what the word "create" means.

From Salon

Wiegman was bullish in her responses, appearing calm and assured of her decisions but she knows England cannot afford to slip-up in France and fall further behind in their qualifying campaign.

From BBC

The odd slip-up over the football isn’t the end of the world.

From BBC

Manchester City were minutes away from a slip-up just three games into the season against promoted Sheffield United.

From BBC

Related Words

• err
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread
• misunderstand
• overestimate
• overrate
• overvalue
• underestimate
• undervalue