Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

misplace

[mis-pleys]
See more synonyms for misplace on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), mis·placed, mis·plac·ing.
  1. to put in a wrong place.
  2. to put in a place afterward forgotten; lose; mislay.
  3. to place or bestow improperly, unsuitably, or unwisely: to misplace one's trust.
Show More

Origin of misplace

First recorded in 1545–55; mis-1 + place
Related formsmis·place·ment, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
3. misapply.

Synonym study

1, 2. See displace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

disorganize, disturb, confuse, unsettle, mislay, disorder, displace, remove, mix, muss, dishevel, miss, scatter, disarrange, misfile

Examples from the Web for misplace

Historical Examples

  • I could not tell how to speak my words for fear I should misplace them.'

    Bunyan

    James Anthony Froude

  • Should the tenant lose or misplace the key it is up to them to replace same.

  • She does not misplace her embellishments with the error of some human artists.

  • Belle, how many times must I ask you not to misplace my things?

    Murder at Bridge

    Anne Austin

  • I could not now tell how to speak my words, for fear I should misplace them.

British Dictionary definitions for misplace

misplace

verb (tr)
  1. to put (something) in the wrong place, esp to lose (something) temporarily by forgetting where it was placed; mislay
  2. (often passive) to bestow (trust, confidence, affection, etc) unadvisedly
Show More
Derived Formsmisplacement, noun
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

Word Origin and History for misplace

v.

1550s, "to assign a wrong position to;" see mis- (1) + place (v.). Of affections, confidence, etc., "to give to a wrong object," it is recorded from 1630s. Related: Misplaced; misplacing.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper