Library / English Dictionary

MUFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(sports) dropping the ball

Synonyms:

fumble; muff

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("muff" is a kind of...):

bloomer; blooper; blunder; boner; boo-boo; botch; bungle; flub; foul-up; fuckup; pratfall (an embarrassing mistake)

Domain category:

American football; American football game (a game played by two teams of 11 players on a rectangular field 100 yards long; teams try to get possession of the ball and advance it across the opponents goal line in a series of (running or passing) plays)

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Derivation:

muff (fail to catch, as of a ball)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A warm tubular covering for the hands

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("muff" is a kind of...):

hand wear; handwear (clothing for the hands)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a mess of, destroy or ruin

Example:

the pianist screwed up the difficult passage in the second movement

Synonyms:

ball up; blow; bobble; bodge; bollix; bollix up; bollocks; bollocks up; botch; botch up; bumble; bungle; flub; fluff; foul up; fuck up; fumble; louse up; mess up; mishandle; muck up; muff; screw up; spoil

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "muff" is one way to...):

fail; go wrong; miscarry (be unsuccessful)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fail to catch, as of a ball

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "muff" is one way to...):

fail; neglect (fail to do something; leave something undone)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

muff ((sports) dropping the ball)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Gathering my mantle about me, and sheltering my hands in my muff, I did not feel the cold, though it froze keenly; as was attested by a sheet of ice covering the causeway, where a little brooklet, now congealed, had overflowed after a rapid thaw some days since.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)