mishear
Americanverb (used with object)
-
mishears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
misheard,
past participle, past
-
mishearing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mishearsimple
-
mishearssimple
-
have misheardperfect
-
has misheardperfect
-
am mishearingprogressive
-
are mishearingprogressive
-
is mishearingprogressive
-
have been mishearingperfect progressive
-
has been mishearingperfect progressive
Past
-
misheardsimple
-
had misheardperfect
-
was mishearingprogressive
-
were mishearingprogressive
-
had been mishearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mishear
before 1000; Middle English misheren, Old English mishīeran. See mis- 1, hear
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:
They don't want to put themselves in situations where they may mishear or seem disengaged, disinterested or unintelligent.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2022
Bixby, I learned, has a tendency to mishear certain radio DJs saying “KEXP” as its own name.
From The Verge ● Apr. 8, 2022
I will tell you this: They are always listening for the wake word, and tech companies admit smart assistants mishear commands more often than any of us would like.
From Fox News ● Oct. 16, 2021
“Did we all mishear, or is this spokesperson really so shameless?”
From Reuters ● Feb. 10, 2021
People love to mishear “Imagine” as a ditty about how our righteous beliefs excuse us from taking necessary action.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 3, 2020
He emphasizes the importance of all 11 players remaining in sync because, if even one player mishears an assignment, the whole scheme crumbles.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 19, 2019
Caroline gets a taste of this fervor when in conversation with Cindy she mishears the words "personal savior " as "personal trainer" and starts laughing, causing an awkward silence between them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2014
The guy in charge of the guest list mishears my name and lets me in as Tom Odell.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 24, 2013
He then goes to his car, there is a Jackie Leven CD playing and he mishears the song.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2012
But this was the first time I wondered if I had misheard him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
At first, Edwards thought she had misheard but set about taking pictures anyway.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2024
On Thursday, López posted on his Instagram Story that he had been misheard and had actually referred to himself as “the worst teammate” in the league.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2024
In Buffalo, New York, a different AI tool misheard Dr. Lauren Bruckner when she told a teenage cancer patient it was a good thing she didn’t have an allergy to sulfa drugs.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2024
The gods frowned at each other like they must have misheard.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Masli, mishearing his worry, assumed he didn’t have a place to go and found someone in the audience who was happy to invite him to her house for a family gathering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
In roughly 150 of the recordings, the broadcaster says the assistant appears to have activated incorrectly after mishearing its wake word.
From The Verge ● Jul. 12, 2019
Companies say there are reasonable explanations, such as the device mishearing its “wake word”—which it recognizes to start listening to commands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2018
She can’t seem to get my mishearing of the lyric out of her head, though.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 19, 2017
And are violations of the rule obvious products of mishearing, careless reading, or a chintzy attempt to sound highfalutin?
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
