misallocation

American  

[mis-al-uh-kay-shuhn] / ˌmɪsˌæl əˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

plural

misallocations

1. the act of improperly allocating something, such as funds, labor, or other resources.

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Example Sentences

But every December we collectively suspend optimization and replace it with a ritual that specializes in misallocation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

While capital misallocation is inevitable and there will be winners and losers, the long-term innovation cycle remains intact.

From Barron's • Nov. 15, 2025

Through bureaucratic incompetence, capital misallocation, and decades of pretending infrastructure would magically fix itself.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 23, 2025

Cities are often portrayed as unfriendly to families because of the shortage of family-sized units, but this data suggests that the problem may be more with a misallocation of those units than with their number.

From Slate • Nov. 27, 2024

It leads to the misallocation of economic resources and distorts competition.

From Crime and Corruption by Vaknin, Samuel