gum up
[verb]
Synonyms: botch, bitch (up), blow, bobble, bollix, bungle, goof (up), louse up, mucker, screw (up)

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

gum something ↔ up phrasal verb informal (see also gum)
to prevent a machine from moving and working properly:
Dirt had got inside the watch and gummed up the works.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

gum up
gum up (something)
to cause something to stop working well.
Don't send any attachments or pictures, because they tend to gum up my computer.

Related vocabulary: gum up the works
Etymology: based on the idea of getting gum (= a sticky substance) in a machine

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

gum up something
gum up (something)
to cause something to stop working well.
Don't send any attachments or pictures, because they tend to gum up my computer.

Related vocabulary: gum up the works
Etymology: based on the idea of getting gum (= a sticky substance) in a machine

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

gum up
to cause something not to work, to make something go wrong
The computer printer became gummed up as I was trying to print my resume.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

gum up
v., slang To cause not to work or ruin; spoil; make something go wrong.
■ Often used in the phrase "gum up the works".
Jimmy has gummed up the typewriter.
Synonym: THROW A MONKEY WRENCH.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲