mismatch
Americanverb (used with object)
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mismatches,
present (3rd person singular)
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mismatched,
past participle, past
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mismatching
present participle
noun
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mismatches
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mismatchsimple
-
mismatchessimple
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have mismatchedperfect
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has mismatchedperfect
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am mismatchingprogressive
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are mismatchingprogressive
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is mismatchingprogressive
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have been mismatchingperfect progressive
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has been mismatchingperfect progressive
Past
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mismatchedsimple
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had mismatchedperfect
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was mismatchingprogressive
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were mismatchingprogressive
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had been mismatchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mismatch
Explanation
When two things (or people) don't work well together or correspond with each other, it's a mismatch. If there's a mismatch between the amount of free time you have and the hours of exercise your puppy needs, you might want to hire a dog walker. There might be a mismatch between workers' skills and the actual jobs that are available, or a mismatch between your aunt and uncle, who seem totally unsuited for each other. Mismatch is also a verb that means "match up badly," like when you mismatch your red shirt with your purple pants. Sometimes sports matches or games are called mismatches too, when one team is clearly superior to the other.
Vocabulary lists containing mismatch
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:
There is a "mismatch", he said, between each hospital's waiting lists, organ availability, capacity to carry out surgeries and the availability of operating theatres.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
It would create a mismatch, since mutual-fund shares are priced only once a day, after the market close, while ETF share prices need to update in real time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
This may point to a mismatch where graduates aren’t building experience in the industries suited to their skills or desires.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
This term has also revealed the profound philosophical mismatch between the court and the public.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
The growing spatial mismatch of jobs had a profound impact on African Americans trapped in ghettos.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Similarly, longtime HSI insiders cautioned that using the agency’s databases and tools to search these lists would yield mismatches and wildly inflated results.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
He has the size and physicality of a tight end, which creates mismatches with smaller cornerbacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He added that supply and demand mismatches will strengthen the company’s pricing model and make it more sustainable.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Boxing has a long history of carefully constructed mismatches.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
This longing for sincere souls, too, it may well have been which wrung from Clotilda the assertion, that there were mismatches only between souls, not between ranks.
From Hesperus or Forty-Five Dog-Post-Days Vol. II A Biography by Jean Paul
What follows — the drained reserves, the mismatched oil, the strained grid and the price we all pay — is the fallout.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Accuracy for the mismatched items dropped to nearly zero in some cases.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
Its officers found a lack of basic bookkeeping records and mismatched information.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Many shared screenshots that appeared to show mismatched answer sheets and incorrect marking.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
She cocked her head to one side, as if curious about what sort of ostriches these odd-looking, mismatched creatures might be.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
"We find that user engagement increases when the national headquarters lead the production of content and the local accounts follow either by tweeting to a matching or mismatching audience, depending on timing in the operation."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2023
Flowers that bloom in early balmy weather run the risk of mismatching with their primary pollinators—such as hummingbirds or bees—which can follow non-climate-dependent cues such as day length.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 22, 2023
“The mismatching of financial market pricing and economic reality is both stark and stretched,” Bennett said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
The Translation: If it seems a little too radical for real life, try a subtler version of mismatching, one that will jolt some energy into your current accessories without overpowering the rest of your outfit.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2018
It's like mismatching anything else—gloves or stockings—and wearing the wrong ones together.
From Faith Gartney's Girlhood by A. D. T. (Adeline Dutton Train) Whitney
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.
