misspell
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Etymology
Origin of misspell
Explanation
When you misspell something, you spell it worng. Whoops. Sorry about that — When you misspell something, you spell it wrong. When you have the letters in the wrong order or you don't have the right letters, you misspell. How humiliating it would be to misspell this word! Just remember that you need two s's — the one in mis- (as in mistake or mishandle), meaning to do something the wrong way, and the s in spell.
Vocabulary lists containing misspell
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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mis-
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for January 7–January 13, 2023
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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.
Toczylowski said federal agents sometimes misspell the name of the person they are booking into custody.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2025
He added that "typo-squatting" - a type of cyber-crime that targets users who incorrectly misspell an internet domain - is common.
From BBC • Jul. 17, 2023
Those tended to be pretty good, and at some point I was just like: “OK, let’s really pull this thread. How many ways can you actually misspell the word pregnant?”
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2021
And they misspell the name of one of the Ukrainian prosecutors.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2019
Two recent popular books on the history of the dating of Earth actually manage to misspell his name.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
