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RELATED WORDS

trespass, overrate, misread, misinterpret, err, undervalue, misjudge, underestimate, misunderstand, misconstrue, overvalue, overestimate, flop, fizzle, backfire, stumble, topple, tumble, skip, slide

Nearby words

written law, wrns, wrnt, wrnt., wrocław, wrong, wrong 'un, wrong end of the stick, the, wrong font, wrong fount, wrong number

Idioms

Origin of wrong

before 1100; (adj.) Middle English wrong, wrang, Old English wrang, perhaps < Old Danish wrang; compare Danish vrang wrong, Old Norse rangr awry; (v. and adv.) Middle English, derivative of the adj.; (noun) Middle English; Old English wrang, derivative of the adj.; akin to wring

Related forms

wrong·er, nounwrong·ly, adverbwrong·ness, nounqua·si-wrong, adjective

Can be confused

wrong wrongful
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for go wrong

Derived Forms

wronger, nounwrongly, adverbwrongness, noun

Word Origin for wrong

Old English wrang injustice, from Old Norse vrang; see wring
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with go wrong (1 of 2)

go wrong

1

Go astray, make a mistake. For example, We made a left turn and somehow went wrong from then on, or You won't go wrong if you follow the directions in the dress pattern. [c. 1300]

2

Take to evil ways, become a criminal, as in As soon as he turned thirteen, Billy fell in with a gang and began to go wrong. [c. 1500]

3

Fail, turn out badly, as in Everything about this party has gone wrong. [Late 1500s]

4

Fail to work properly, as in The car starts fine, but as soon as you put it in gear, the transmission goes wrong. [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with go wrong (2 of 2)

wrong

see back the wrong horse; bark up the wrong tree; do someone wrong; get someone wrong; get up on the wrong side of bed; go wrong; in the wrong; on the right (wrong) foot; on the right (wrong) tack; right (wrong) side of the tracks; rub the wrong way; take the wrong way; two wrongs do not make a right.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.