misfit
Americanverb (used with or without object)
noun
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something that fits badly, such as a garment that is too large or too small.
-
a person who is not suited or is unable to adjust to the circumstances of a particular situation.
She was a misfit in that job after her big promotion.
noun
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a person not suited in behaviour or attitude to a particular social environment
-
something that does not fit or fits badly
verb
Etymology
Origin of misfit
Explanation
A person who just can't seem to fit in, no matter how hard they try, is called a misfit. If all of your friends are great dancers, but you are awkward and uncoordinated with no sense of rhythm, you might feel like a misfit. Often, people who are misfits as kids eventually find other misfits to be friends with: suddenly, because they've found a group that accepts them and makes them feel comfortable; they're not misfits anymore. In the early nineteenth century, the word misfit meant "a garment that fits badly," but by the end of the 1800s it had come to primarily mean "outcast" or "oddball." The fit in both cases is wrong, thus the prefix mis-, or "wrong."
Vocabulary lists containing misfit
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mis-
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mis-
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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.
Laid across this ostinato are various storylines involving recruits working out the issues that have brought them to this Parris Island of Misfit Boys.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
Misfit Markets and Imperfect Foods are two examples.
From Washington Times • Jul. 11, 2023
Graffis’ blog, Moda Misfit, was inspired by her transformation by necessity of a 500-square-foot studio in downtown Seattle.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2022
Writer Romeo Muller expanded upon the story of Rudolph to introduce Hermey, the elf who yearns to be a dentist, and the Island of Misfit Toys.
From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2022
The Lone Wolf was often an angry wolf, whereas a Misfit was often calm and contented.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
