Illustration of muff
muff
1 of 3noun (1)
ˈməf 
: a warm tubular covering for the hands
muff
2 of 3verb
muffed; muffing; muffs
transitive verb
1
: to handle awkwardly
2
: to fail to hold (a ball) when attempting a catch
intransitive verb
1
: to act or do something stupidly or clumsily
2
: to muff a ball compare fumble
muff
3 of 3noun (2)
1
: a bungling performance
2
: a failure to hold a ball in attempting a catch
Synonyms
Verb
- blow
- bobble
- boggle
- bollix (up)
- boot
- botch
- bugger (up)
- bumble
- bungle
- butcher
- dub
- flub
- fluff
- foozle
- foul up
- fumble
- goof (up)
- louse up
- mangle
- mess (up)
- muck up
- murder
- screw up
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb He muffed his chance for a promotion. The outfielder muffed an easy catch.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Dutch mof, from Middle French moufle mitten, from Medieval Latin muffula
Verb
probably from muff entry 1
First Known Use
Noun (1)
1599, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1846, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Noun (2)
1867, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
muff 1 of 2
noun
ˈməf
: a soft thick cover into which both hands can be placed to protect them from cold
muff
2 of 2verb
muffed; muffing
: to make a mistake in doing or handling
He muffed an easy catch.
muffing
verb
as in fumbling
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way muffed the repair job and had to do it again Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- fumbling
- blowing
- flubbing
- botching
- mangling
- dubbing
- bungling
- booting
- bobbling
- ruining
- fluffing
- murdering
- spoiling
- butchering
- destroying
- bumbling
- marring
- boggling
- damaging
- wrecking
- screwing up
- mucking up
- fouling up
- blundering
- lousing up
- foozling
- injuring
- muddling
- mutilating
- impairing
- bollixing (up)
- buggering (up)
- hurting
- blighting
- goofing (up)
- blemishing
- flawing
- piffling
- harming
- messing (up)
- vitiating
- mismanaging
- mishandling
- gumming (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- improving
- helping
- remedying
- rectifying
- refining
- reforming
- enhancing
- ameliorating
- fixing
- repairing
- patching
- meliorating
- doctoring
- revamping
- reconditioning
- bettering
- renovating
- cyclogenic
- cyclogeny
- cyclogiro
- cyclogram
- cyclographs
- cyclogyro
- cycloheptane
- cycloheptanone
- cyclohexane
- cyclohexanes
- cyclohexanol
- cyclohexanone
- cyclohexanones
- cyclohexene
- cycloheximide
- cycloheximides
- cyclohexyl
- cyclohexylamine
- cyclohexylamines
- cycloid
- cycloidal
- cycloidal pendulum
- cycloidal propeller
- cycloidaler
- cycloidalest