mishap
Americannoun
-
mishaps
plural
noun
-
an unfortunate accident
-
bad luck
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mishap
Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at mis- 1, hap 1
Explanation
Don’t cry over spilled milk, it is just a minor mishap — a misfortune. If the surgeon operates on the wrong leg when you go in for knee surgery? Now, that’s a mishap to get upset about. You might assume that hap is short for happening, but it is actually an Old Norse word for "luck." So with mis ("bad") in front of it, it literally means “bad luck.” Mishaps can be accidents of great consequence or minimal consequence. People often say that an event went off “without a mishap,” meaning that it went smoothly. Hopefully this will be the case if you ever get knee surgery.
Vocabulary lists containing mishap
Power Prefix: mis-
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
ACT Vocabulary List
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
In one deafening and dangerous laboratory mishap, a glass tube that was overfilled with gas exploded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
But the 51-year-old says she did not receive a fair trial, citing problems with evidence, the actions of the prosecution, and an unusual mishap with the jury while they deliberated on their verdicts.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
On Thursday, Anthropic reported a similar mishap whereby a setup error allowed its Claude models to reach the open internet during safety evaluations and compromise the infrastructure of three real-world organizations.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026
Shortly after he and Adrian reminisce about the mishap in Munich, McElwee continues his narration.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Against all logic, on the second try the bird lifted off without mishap and with a certain elegance, accompanied by the creaking of its skeleton and the roar of its motor.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
"Wooden boats have served their time, but they cannot be the future of water transport in Nigeria. The tragic mishaps we continue to witness are a direct consequence of the continued reliance on unsafe vessels."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
There are measures the company has adopted over the years to bolster its platform against myriad vulnerabilities: adopting cybersecurity programs to preempt automated bot accounts, and expanding protections for music festival mishaps.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
The arrangement makes the mechanism vulnerable to damage from mishaps with the charging plug and heavy cabling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
Recent improvements in AI technologies have made visual fakes easier to create and more convincing, with once-telltale mishaps such as six-fingered hands increasingly less common.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
It was a week’s journey from Rook Hill to the Royal City, barring any mishaps.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
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.
