oops
A minor mistake or unforeseen difficulty.
Interjection
- Used to acknowledge a small mistake or accident.
- Oops! I left the lid off the ketchup.
- Oops, I did it again / I played with your heart, got lost in the game - 2000, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, “Oops!… I Did It Again”, in Oops!… I Did It Again, performed by Britney Spears:
Synonyms: oopsy uh-oh whoops whoops-a-daisy
- Used to indicate mild surprise or shock.
Synonyms: oop
Origin
A presumably 'natural' exclamation, attested in writing since 1921. Related to or a variation of whoops (itself attested since 1933). A shortening of whoops-a-daisy, whoopsie-daisy, or oops-a-daisy, which in turn is a mispronunciation of ups-a-daisy or upsy-daisy.
Derived
Noun
- A minor mistake or unforeseen difficulty.
- It's an oops, but one that's your fault, not your puppy's. - 2011, Housetraining, →ISBN, page 14:
- Every plan and every activity has an “oops.” Oops, we forgot to..., oops, who was supposed to do that? We all have experienced “oopses”. - 2013, Bruce Tucker, Leadership at the Crossroads, →ISBN:
- Isn't she the same woman who works at Wings that you and Billy almost got arrested for helping her with her last little oops? - 2014, Al Rennie, Clearwater Oops!, →ISBN:
Forms
Verb
- To make a mistake; to blunder.