mess up

mess someone up

to cause someone emotional problems. I don't want to mess her up any more than she already is, I decided to leave her alone. He's so messed up. Having just one parent has been known to mess up a kid.

See also: mess

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mess something up

1. to break, damage, or spoil something. She worries that X-rays could mess up her laptop's hard drive. I messed up my ankle playing touch football. Most of kids at the party were well behaved, but there's always a few who mess things up.

2. to do something badly or make mistakes. I really messed up my chemistry exam. We had a chance to win the game, but we messed it up.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form mess up on something: I messed up on my driving test.

See also: mess