mishandle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to handle badly; maltreat.
to mishandle a dog.
-
to manage badly.
to mishandle an estate.
-
to lose or misplace.
to mishandle baggage.
verb
Etymology
Origin of mishandle
Explanation
When you mishandle something, you make a mess of it. For example, a teacher who mishandles a classroom loses control of his students. An entrepreneur who mishandles an important meeting at her bank might have lost an opportunity to borrow money for her business, and a dog trainer who mishandles an aggressive dog might end up getting bitten. When you handle something, you deal with it, and when you add the Old English prefix mis-, it means that you've dealt with it in a "wrong" or "bad" way.
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.
That stands to reason: Mishandle a corpse, and you’re going to hear about it.
From BusinessWeek • Oct. 24, 2013
Q. In-Laws Mishandle My Newborn: I do not want to leave my newborn daughter with my in-laws when I return to work.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2012
Mishandle firing an employee, or terminate someone in the heat of an argument without paving the groundwork, and your business and its employees could be paying for it for years to come.
From Inc • Sep. 27, 2010
"Mishandle him?" the Vicomte said, opening his eyes in astonishment.
From The Abbess Of Vlaye by Weyman, Stanley J.
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.
