misspell

American  

[mis-spel] / mɪsˈspɛl /

verb (used with or without object)

misspells, present (3rd person singular) misspelled, past participle, past misspelt, past participle, past misspelling present participle

1. to spell incorrectly.

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misspell British  

/ ˌmɪsˈspɛl /

verb

1. to spell (a word or words) wrongly

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Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has misspelled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have misspelt
  perfect
• has misspelt
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have misspelled
  perfect
• am misspelling
  progressive 1st person singular
• is misspelling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been misspelling
  perfect progressive
• has been misspelling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• misspelling
  participle
• misspells
  singular 3rd person
• are misspelling
  progressive

Past

• had misspelt
  perfect
• had misspelled
  perfect
• was misspelling
  progressive singular
• had been misspelling
  perfect progressive
• were misspelling
  progressive plural
• misspelt
  simple
• misspelled
  simple
• misspelt
  participle
• misspelled
  participle

Future

• will misspell
  simple
• will have misspelled
  perfect
• will have misspelt
  perfect
• will be misspelling
  progressive
• will have been misspelling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of misspell

First recorded in 1645–55; mis- ¹ + spell ¹

Explanation

When you misspell something, you spell it worng. Whoops. Sorry about that — When you misspell something, you spell it wrong. When you have the letters in the wrong order or you don't have the right letters, you misspell. How humiliating it would be to misspell this word! Just remember that you need two s's — the one in mis- (as in mistake or mishandle), meaning to do something the wrong way, and the s in spell.