miscarry
Americanverb (used without object)
-
miscarries,
present (3rd person singular)
-
miscarried,
past participle, past
-
miscarrying
present participle
-
to have a miscarriage of a fetus.
-
to fail to attain the right or desired end; be unsuccessful.
The plan miscarried.
-
to go astray or be lost in transit, as a letter.
verb
-
to expel a fetus prematurely from the womb; abort
-
to fail
all her plans miscarried
-
(of freight, mail, etc) to fail to reach a destination
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
miscarrysimple
-
miscarriessimple
-
have miscarriedperfect
-
has miscarriedperfect
-
am miscarryingprogressive
-
are miscarryingprogressive
-
is miscarryingprogressive
-
have been miscarryingperfect progressive
-
has been miscarryingperfect progressive
Past
-
miscarriedsimple
-
had miscarriedperfect
-
was miscarryingprogressive
-
were miscarryingprogressive
-
had been miscarryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miscarry
First recorded in 1275–1325, miscarry is from the Middle English word miscarien. See mis- 1, carry
Vocabulary lists containing miscarry
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:
She said many women do not share their pregnancy news before the 12-week scan, so if they miscarry earlier, they can struggle to know who to talk to which can be isolating.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
But even in the cases of those who miscarry and are denied medical care, there's not much concern.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2024
Up to one in four women who know they are pregnant will miscarry, according to the National Library of Medicine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
“A lot of people successfully miscarry on their own, but that can take a couple months,” Loren said in an interview.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
Mom told me those types of pregnancies frequently miscarry early on, but not always.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
A woman who miscarries and needs medical care is, in this worldview, much like a malfunctioning appliance.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2024
Then there is the well-known problem of incomplete miscarriage, which may arise after a patient miscarries naturally, or begins a medication abortion.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2022
Like my husband, many men experience sadness, grief, stress, anxiety, and depression after their partner miscarries.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 2, 2021
One of its most talked-about sequences came when Fleabag’s sister miscarries in a restaurant toilet cubicle.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 22, 2020
"It is spoken with understanding and foresight. But how do I draw back my arm if all this miscarries?"
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
Anne miscarried, and the medallion was never issued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
In one case, a pregnant woman miscarried after becoming ill, the agency said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025
Eventually, she began to see brown discharge and was taken to an off-site hospital where, days later, health care providers confirmed she had miscarried.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2025
But after a bleed early on, a test showed Rhiannon had miscarried at eight weeks.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2025
When Estella miscarried a third time, the doctor spelled the consequences out more plainly: “Another pregnancy could kill your wife.”
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
Most disturbing of all, women who were actively miscarrying, an already physically painful and emotionally shattering experience, said they were ignored entirely by facility staff.
From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025
It doesn’t capture what happened to miscarrying patients who were turned away from emergency rooms or those like Barnica who were made to wait, then discharged home before they returned with sepsis.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
But Anna Malnutt said she went back to work three days after miscarrying: "I just didn't really know how long was OK to take, and I felt like I needed to go back."
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2025
There’s also Josseli Barnica, the 28-year-old mother of a toddler who went to the hospital miscarrying at 17 weeks pregnant.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2024
Coming to naught; failing in its effect; miscarrying; fruitless; unsuccessful; as, an abortive attempt.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
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.
