How do you say “Drop the ball” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is cometer un error, which literally means “to make a mistake”. English speakers use drop the ball to mean to fail to do something you were responsible for. A broad, direct equivalent. Explain the missed duty, because this phrase alone does not imply a failure of responsibility. Register: neutral. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
cometer un error
/komeˈteɾ un eˈror/
- Literal meaning
- “to make a mistake”
- Register
- neutral
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
86 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
Spanish can describe the error plainly. The examples add the forgotten booking or invitation update to preserve the particular failure in the English.
“Meter la pata” is a more informal alternative for making a blunder. It is broader too and can describe saying something tactless.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
I dropped the ball and forgot to book the room for the party.
Spanish
Cometí un error y olvidé reservar la sala para la fiesta.
English
We dropped the ball on the invitations, so nobody knew the new date.
Spanish
Cometimos un error con las invitaciones, así que nadie sabía la nueva fecha.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-10-01