miscarriage
Americannoun
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miscarriages
plural
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the expulsion of a fetus before it is viable, especially between the third and seventh months of pregnancy; spontaneous abortion.
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failure to attain the just, right, or desired result.
a miscarriage of justice.
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failure of something sent, as a letter, to reach its destination.
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Chiefly British. transportation of goods not in accordance with the contract of shipment.
noun
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spontaneous expulsion of a fetus from the womb, esp prior to the 20th week of pregnancy
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an act of mismanagement or failure
a miscarriage of justice
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the failure of freight to reach its destination
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The premature, spontaneous expulsion of the products of pregnancy from the uterus, usually in the first trimester.
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Also called spontaneous abortion
Discover More
Generally, a miscarriage is a failure to achieve a desired end, as in a miscarriage of justice.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of miscarriage
Explanation
A miscarriage, in medical terms, is the birth of a fetus before it's able to live independently of its mother. In other words, a miscarriage is the abrupt, early end of a pregnancy. The medical sense of miscarriage, which usually describes the very early loss of a pregnancy (later losses are often called stillbirths), is actually among the newer uses of the word. In the sixteenth century, a miscarriage was almost always a "mistake or error" or sometimes "misbehavior." Today, when something doesn't go the way it was supposed to, you might call it a miscarriage.
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.
See Examples For:
The miscarriage rate—even with frozen or donor eggs—starts to climb as you get older.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
After a second miscarriage, the couple started looking into the Murphy drill site, which they knew was two blocks away, and learned about the violations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
“This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Meanwhile, the right also covers women and their partners who experience a pregnancy loss, including miscarriage, terminations and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
For the first time I fully reckoned with the truth that the conviction, the death sentence, and the heartbreak and devastation of this miscarriage of justice had created permanent injuries.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis told the BBC the innocent traders had been the victims of a series of miscarriages of justice.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
To understand the effect of insurance coverage, consider Michele Metz, a 34-year-old nurse from Murrieta who spent nearly $100,000 for unsuccessful IVF treatments four years ago after a history of multiple miscarriages and endometriosis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
“I am 34 and have been pregnant multiple times, had two miscarriages, and two abortions. For this, I am being referred to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Following a number of other controversial executions and a series of miscarriages of justice it was permanently abolished for murder in 1969.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
This house and garden brought back the sweet man she had begun to love after their wedding, before the pregnancies, the miscarriages, the moves, and the money worries.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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