mistime

American

[mis-tahym] / mɪsˈtaɪm /

verb (used with object)

to time badly; perform, say, propose, etc., at a bad or inappropriate time.

mistime British

/ ˌmɪsˈtaɪm /

verb

(tr) to time (an action, utterance, etc) wrongly

"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

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of mistime

before 1000; Middle English mistimen, Old English mistīmian. See mis- ¹, time

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.

Forcing the striker to mistime his control of the ball is not an offence and referee John Brooks called it absolutely right.

From BBC • May 8, 2023

With two on and two down in the sixth, catcher Jacob Stallings poked a soft, 79-mph liner toward Escobar, who seemed to mistime his jump and couldn’t haul it in.

From Washington Post • Apr. 26, 2022

So I now in retrospect describe that as a brilliant strategy: fail at playing the tape, mistime it before lunch, and build the dramatic interest into what happened.

From MSNBC • Jun. 19, 2019

"Stand and cheer as Joakim Noah sits the bench for $19 million! Come see Ron Baker mistime dives for loose balls! Watch Spike Lee wait intently for his nightly spot on the JumboTron!"

From Golf Digest • Apr. 19, 2018

Now that I see how unwieldy and overpowered his swing is, I have zero doubt he’ll mistime it and swing too soon.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023