misplace
Americanverb (used with object)
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misplaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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misplaced,
past participle, past
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misplacing
present participle
verb
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to put (something) in the wrong place, esp to lose (something) temporarily by forgetting where it was placed; mislay
-
(often passive) to bestow (trust, confidence, affection, etc) unadvisedly
Synonym Usage
See displace.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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misplacesimple
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misplacessimple
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have misplacedperfect
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has misplacedperfect
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am misplacingprogressive
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are misplacingprogressive
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is misplacingprogressive
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have been misplacingperfect progressive
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has been misplacingperfect progressive
Past
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misplacedsimple
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had misplacedperfect
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was misplacingprogressive
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were misplacingprogressive
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had been misplacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of misplace
Explanation
When you misplace your car keys, you can't remember where you put them. In other words, you temporarily lose them. You can use the verb misplace when you can't find something. If you misplace your favorite coffee cup, you'll be annoyed, but if you misplace your wallet it could cause you real problems. The word implies that the object isn't gone for good, but that you unthinkingly put it down somewhere. When you combine the prefix mis-, which means "bad or wrong," and place, you get misplace — as in placing something in a bad spot!
Vocabulary lists containing misplace
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
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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.
See Examples For:
Just as robots can misplace blocks, chatbots can generate false or misleading outputs.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2026
Sometimes we’re so angry about what’s going on in the world, we misplace our anger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2024
His propensity to misplace passes ultimately proved costly as Rashford celebrated an equaliser where the blame lay squarely at his door.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2023
It’s proof that the 20-time Grammy winner, who settles in for eight solo shows at Seattle’s downtown jazz mecca, can misplace more gems than most mortals will ever lay down.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
“Do let me know if you misplace that precious souvenir again. I have eyes everywhere, all the time.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
One of Early’s other beloved characters, a Southern standup comedian named Vicky with a V who loves Maggiano’s restaurants and frequently misplaces her denim jacket, shares a similar tenderheartedness to Maddie.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025
Like many other people with ADHD, she often has to re-purchase items such as watches and keys because she regularly misplaces them.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
If you are the type who misplaces their readers repeatedly, do what I do and invest in an inexpensive chain or cord and wear your readers around your neck.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 23, 2020
During the exodus, she misplaces her shawl and refuses to let anyone wait for her while she searches for it, waving them away into the night.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The council's focus on creating lots of jobs locally is misplaced, Matthew believes.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
I’ve been an eyewitness to lost specimens turning up in a museum when a colleague spotted a dinosaur skull and pterosaur skeleton sitting on the wrong shelf like misplaced library books.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Bulls said these worries were misplaced, given the magnitude of demand for tech hardware created by the AI data-center rush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
So let me offer a different lineup, since the country seems to have misplaced it.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Bailey cannot tell if the tag refers to the break in the tent, or if it has been misplaced from some other tent.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
“The IRS is not unknown for, perhaps, misplacing mail as it comes in,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Occasionally, he has had heated arguments with the media, lambasting outlets for "misplacing" their focus.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
According to reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, he fired a Coast Guard pilot after blaming him misplacing Noem's blanket as they switched from one plane to another on a trip.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
In the middle stand the players, the professionals who have to maintain a healthy balance or risk misplacing their senses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
“I’m always misplacing stuff. Probably left them in the fridge when I got the milk out this morning. Really, they could be anywhere.”
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
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.
