mislay

American  

[mis-ley] / mɪsˈleɪ /

verb (used with object)

mislaid, mislaying

1. to lose temporarily; misplace.

   He mislaid his keys.

2. to lay or place wrongly; arrange or situate improperly.

   to mislay linoleum.

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mislay British  

/ mɪsˈleɪ /

verb

1. to lose (something) temporarily, esp by forgetting where it is

2. to lay (something) badly

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Other Word Forms

• mislayer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mislay

First recorded in 1350–1400, mislay is from Middle English mysse layen. See mis- ¹, lay ¹

Explanation

If you mislay something, you lose it temporarily. People who tend to mislay their house keys sometimes hide an extra key under a rock near the front door. If you mislay your cell phone inside, you can ask your brother to call your number. If your grandmother mislays her hearing aid, you'll have to shout and gesture until she finds it again. Mislay implies that you've put the lost object down somewhere, and you'll find it again soon. The word adds the "bad" or "wrong" prefix mis- to lay, from the Old English lecgan, "to place on the ground."

Example Sentences

Mislay, mis-lā′, v.t. to lay in a wrong place or in one not remembered: to lose:—pa.p. mislaid′.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

I never knew her Mislay the thread or the needle of a thing.

From The Lamp and the Bell by Millay, Edna St. Vincent