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Synonyms

misprint

American  
[mis-print, mis-print, mis-print] / ˈmɪsˌprɪnt, mɪsˈprɪnt, mɪsˈprɪnt /

noun

  1. a mistake in printing, as an instance of printing a letter or word other than that intended.


verb (used with object)

misprints, present (3rd person singular) misprinted, past participle, past misprinting present participle
  1. to print incorrectly.

misprint British  

noun

  1. an error in printing, made through damaged type, careless reading, etc

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to print (a letter) incorrectly

"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

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Inflected Forms

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Present

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Etymology

Origin of misprint

First recorded in 1485–95; mis- 1 + print

Explanation

An error in a published text is a misprint. If a newspaper headline reads "Local Sailing Team Wins International Goat Race," that's probably a misprint. At least we hope it is! A mistake in anything that's printed is a misprint. You might also call it a typographical error or typo. Misprints are an embarrassment for the publisher, since they're evidence of a hasty printing job or a lack of careful proofreading. Spelling and grammatical errors (using then instead of than, for example) in books, magazines, or newspapers are common kinds of misprints.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing misprint

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:

“Wait,” I thought turning the page, “is this a misprint? It’s not?”

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 14, 2025

Reaching the conclusion that what she had on her hands was not what commenters suggested was a "haunted" or "cursed" album, but a comical and likely valuable misprint, she laughed it off.

From Salon Jul. 12, 2023

The edition donated to the British Heart Foundation is thought to be incredibly rare, featuring a misprint unique to the first version of the record of which there are only 10,000 copies.

From BBC May 16, 2023

That wasn’t a misprint: At least seven teams are expected to have new starting quarterbacks after an offseason in which the transfer portal loomed large.

From Seattle Times Aug. 2, 2022

Furthermore, whoever would name their offspring after the Emancipation Proclamation should blame themselves for any misprint.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

An academic who was tasked with editing the Bible on which King Charles will swear his Coronation Oath has spoken about why he decided to include hundreds of misprints.

From BBC May 6, 2023

In 1993, 49 percent of Black children and 52 percent of Hispanic children were poor — figures that now look like misprints.

From New York Times Sep. 11, 2022

She will be the Wilt Chamberlain of college basketball: the records are so gaudy they look like misprints.

From The Guardian Mar. 28, 2019

Even the misprints are faithfully preserved: Peter Criss' solo single "You Matter To Me" appears as "You Still Matter To Me" on the label.

From Seattle Times Nov. 20, 2012

Lately I’ve started collecting old books that are famous for their misprints.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

The brand’s new owner, Spangler Candy Company, reintroduced Sweethearts to the candy market in 2020, though limited availability and production issues resulted in misprinted and blank candies.

From Seattle Times Feb. 14, 2024

Only one block of 100 of the misprinted stamps went public.

From New York Times Nov. 14, 2023

"What could be more unique than our limited-edition misprinted crockery?" he said.

From BBC Feb. 1, 2022

Baxter explained that he didn’t even know about the situation until the misprinted shirts started getting attention.

From Fox News Jul. 20, 2021

Hundreds of crates of misprinted dictionaries are stacked in the halls, and the girls burn them page by page in the potbelly stove.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

This is a valuable work, but marred, especially in the first volume, by the unparalleled misprinting, the engagements of the author not permitting him to correct the proofs.

From History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia by Campbell, Charles

Also where the employment or omission of a capital is plainly due to misprinting, as too frequently in the 1673 edition, I silently make the correction.

From The Poetical Works of John Milton by Milton, John

The secret feuds of suppressing, misplacing, and misprinting, which it has carried on against us, have long deserved that this declaration should be held in honorable remembrance, and that continuously.

From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 03 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Francke, Kuno

Turnbull perpetuates 1670's misprint of 'in' for 'with' in line 2, and adds one of his own in line 26, by misprinting 'guest' for 'guests.'

From The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I (of 2) by Crashaw, Richard

Mr. Westcott's book confuses this portion of his chronology by misprinting two or three dates, on the 113th page.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 11, September, 1858 by Various

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