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miscarry

[mis-kar-ee; for 1 also mis-kar-ee]
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verb (used without object), mis·car·ried, mis·car·ry·ing.
  1. to have a miscarriage of a fetus.
  2. to fail to attain the right or desired end; be unsuccessful: The plan miscarried.
  3. to go astray or be lost in transit, as a letter.
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Origin of miscarry

First recorded in 1275–1325, miscarry is from the Middle English word miscarien. See mis-1, carry
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

abortslipdeclinefounderfloundermisfireflopblunderfoldfizzlefallmissbackslidedeteriorate

Examples from the Web for miscarry

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I am for that of Paris; it cannot miscarry; I have considered it well.

    The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Complete

    Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz

  • Without these the Revolution will miscarry and our Dastur will not be worth a date-stone.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • The Cardinal's plans were, indeed, likely to miscarry if he persisted thus.

    The Suitors of Yvonne

    Raphael Sabatini

  • “No, they not miscarry yet,” replied the Arab, with a grim smile.

    Black Ivory

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • It grieves me mightily; for it will be a sad houre to the family should she miscarry.

British Dictionary definitions for miscarry

miscarry

verb -ries, -rying or -ried (intr)
  1. to expel a fetus prematurely from the womb; abort
  2. to failall her plans miscarried
  3. British (of freight, mail, etc) to fail to reach a destination
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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

Word Origin and History for miscarry

v.

c.1300, "go astray;" mid-14c., "come to harm, perish;" of persons, "to die," of objects, "to be lost or destroyed," from mis- (1) "wrongly" + caryen "to carry" (see carry (v.)). Meaning "deliver unviable fetus" first recorded 1520s; that of "fail, come to naught" (of plans or designs) is from c.1600. Related: Miscarried; miscarrying.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
miscarry in Medicine

miscarry

(mĭs′kăr′ē, mĭs-kăr′ē)
v.
  1. To have a miscarriage; abort.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.