malaprop
1 Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- outmalaprop verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of malaprop
First recorded in 1815–25; see origin at Malaprop
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.
In 1978, the company teamed Mr. Saluga with Norm Crosby, the malaprop comedian, for a commercial set in a bar.
From New York Times • May 16, 2023
After it ended, Caps coach Bryan Murray flipped that phrase into a perfect postmortem malaprop: “Everybody tried so damn hard. It’s a shame somebody had to win.”
From Washington Post • May 8, 2020
He makes his appearance with the malaprop assumption that Churchill is “Church Hill,” and he squeezes the last drop of embarrassment out of this blunder and all those to come.
From The New Yorker • May 18, 2016
A malaprop, by the way, is defined as an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously.
From Washington Times • Dec. 29, 2015
You’re officially the malaprop king, Nick, he says.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
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.
