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merder

to mess up

verb mair-DEH Less Common

Also means

to fail badly

Usage Note

Merder is a vulgar informal verb derived from merde (shit), meaning to go wrong, screw up, or fail spectacularly. It is used in expressions like ça merde ('it's going to hell') or j'ai merdé ('I screwed up'). Register is decidedly coarse; avoid in formal speech.

Examples

"Le projet a vraiment merdé dès le début."

Natural Translation

The project really messed up from the start.

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