misallocation

American

[mis-al-uh-kay-shuhn] / ˌmɪsˌæl əˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

plural

misallocations

the act of improperly allocating something, such as funds, labor, or other resources.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Gary Marcus, an entrepreneur and prominent AI researcher, called Big Tech’s spending the “greatest capital misallocation in history” in an X post following Wednesday’s earnings announcements.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

But every December we collectively suspend optimization and replace it with a ritual that specializes in misallocation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

While capital misallocation is inevitable and there will be winners and losers, the long-term innovation cycle remains intact.

From Barron's • Nov. 15, 2025

Cities are often portrayed as unfriendly to families because of the shortage of family-sized units, but this data suggests that the problem may be more with a misallocation of those units than with their number.

From Slate • Nov. 27, 2024

It leads to the misallocation of economic resources and distorts competition.

From Crime and Corruption by Vaknin, Samuel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023