whoops

Whoops is an informal interjection used to acknowledge a minor mistake or accident. It is commonly written in lowercase in casual text, though it may appear capitalized at the start of a sentence or as a standalone exclamation: Whoops! The word is often followed by a brief apology or explanation, as in Whoops, I forgot to attach the file. It conveys mild embarrassment and is part of everyday spoken English, alongside terms like oops or my bad.

In usage, whoops signals that the error is not serious and is typically handled with a light, self-deprecating tone. It is common in informal conversation, text messages, social media, and casual writing. In more formal settings, speakers may opt for a more explicit apology or corrective action rather than the single-word exclamation.

Beyond everyday language, Whoops also appears in the field of software development. Whoops is the name of a PHP error-handling library that provides detailed and human-friendly error pages during development. It is designed to help developers diagnose exceptions quickly and is commonly used in PHP projects and frameworks that support debugging enhancements.

Etymologically, whoops is a natural, onomatopoeic extension of the exclamation whoop, used to convey a light, spontaneous reaction to an unintended slip. The exact historical origin is not precisely documented, but the term has become a familiar part of casual English vocabulary.