misdirect

American

[mis-di-rekt] / ˌmɪs dɪˈrɛkt /

verb (used with object)

to direct or address wrongly or incorrectly.

to misdirect a person; to misdirect a letter.

misdirect British

/ ˌmɪsdɪˈrɛkt /

verb

to give (a person) wrong directions or instructions
to address (a letter, parcel, etc) wrongly

"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

Other Word Forms

misdirection

noun

Etymology

Origin of misdirect

First recorded in 1595–1605; mis- ¹ + direct

Vocabulary lists containing misdirect

Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: mis-

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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.

They are so smart, often harder to misdirect, harder to kind of just psychologically go the way that you predict.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2025

So juxtaposing that line with footage of the adult Yellowjackets being threatened with evidence of their shared past — again — could be a misdirect.

From Salon • Feb. 10, 2025

We can’t afford to let the banks misdirect us again.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2024

“Baylor’s focus of media attention on football tried to misdirect attention from institutional failures of the Baylor administration. Our clients would have none of that,” Dunn said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 18, 2023

She initially attempted to misdirect the officer and the investigators in an effort to protect her privacy.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023