Skip to the word

Added 10 October 2026

fiasco

/fiˈæs.kəʊ/ noun

Latin root: flasca Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fiasco at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A sudden or unexpected failure.
The event turned into a complete fiasco when the power went out.
A ludicrous or humiliating situation. Some effort that went quite wrong.
A wine bottle in a (usually straw) jacket.

Origin

Borrowed from Italian fiasco (“bottle, flask”), from Late Latin flasca, flascō (“bottle, container”), from Frankish *flaskā (“bottle, flask”) from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“bottle”); see flask. “Failure” sense comes through French faire fiasco from Italian theatrical slang far fiasco (literally “to make a bottle”), of uncertain origin; perhaps from an expression fare il fiasco, meaning to play a game with the forfeit that the loser will buy the next bottle or round of drinks. Doublet of flacon, flagon, and flask.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word