slip-ups

Meaning

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   Small mistakes, especially ones that could have been avoided.

   Grammar: Countable; the singular is slip-up. Use a slip-up for one mistake and slip-ups for several.

   Patterns

   • make slip-ups
   • a few slip-ups
   • slip-ups in something

   The report was good overall, but there were a couple of slip-ups in the numbers.

   She made a few slip-ups during her first week at the new job.

   Careful proofreading will catch most slip-ups before the article goes online.

Word forms

Common combinations

make a slip-up

Everyone makes a slip-up now and then, so don't worry about it.

a minor slip-up

It was only a minor slip-up, and the team fixed it quickly.

a slip-up in the accounts

Auditors found a slip-up in the accounts from last year.

avoid slip-ups

Using a checklist helps you avoid slip-ups under pressure.

Synonyms and how they differ

mistake

Mistake is the general, neutral word; slip-up is more informal and suggests a small, careless error.

error

Error is more formal and often used in technical or written contexts, while slip-up sounds conversational.

blunder

A blunder is a bigger, more embarrassing mistake than a slip-up.

Word family

slip up phrasal verb

To make a mistake, especially a small one.

Commonly confused: slip-ups or slipup?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “slip-ups”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words