miscarry
Americanverb (used without object)
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miscarries,
present (3rd person singular)
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miscarried,
past participle, past
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miscarrying
present participle
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to have a miscarriage of a fetus.
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to fail to attain the right or desired end; be unsuccessful.
The plan miscarried.
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to go astray or be lost in transit, as a letter.
verb
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to expel a fetus prematurely from the womb; abort
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to fail
all her plans miscarried
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(of freight, mail, etc) to fail to reach a destination
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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miscarrysimple
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miscarriessimple
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have miscarriedperfect
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has miscarriedperfect
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am miscarryingprogressive
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are miscarryingprogressive
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is miscarryingprogressive
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have been miscarryingperfect progressive
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has been miscarryingperfect progressive
Past
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miscarriedsimple
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had miscarriedperfect
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was miscarryingprogressive
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were miscarryingprogressive
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had been miscarryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of miscarry
First recorded in 1275–1325, miscarry is from the Middle English word miscarien. See mis- 1, carry
Vocabulary lists containing miscarry
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:
Was it possible that my relentless travel had caused me to miscarry — and in a country where I knew women sometimes faced withering criticism and blame for poor pregnancy outcomes?
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
She said many women do not share their pregnancy news before the 12-week scan, so if they miscarry earlier, they can struggle to know who to talk to which can be isolating.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
Listeria infections are especially serious for anyone who is pregnant, as a listeria infection during pregnancy can cause a patient to miscarry, deliver a stillbirth, or deliver the baby early.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2025
“A lot of people successfully miscarry on their own, but that can take a couple months,” Loren said in an interview.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
Mom told me those types of pregnancies frequently miscarry early on, but not always.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
A woman who miscarries and needs medical care is, in this worldview, much like a malfunctioning appliance.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2024
Like my husband, many men experience sadness, grief, stress, anxiety, and depression after their partner miscarries.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 2, 2021
If someone miscarries at home, the onus is on them to collect a clean sample of the tissue and take it to their hospital within 24 hours.
From The Guardian ● May 5, 2020
Is a woman who miscarries early responsible for fishing her small, sometimes hard-to-identify embryo out of a blood-filled toilet bowl before flushing?
From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2019
"It is spoken with understanding and foresight. But how do I draw back my arm if all this miscarries?"
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
When the couple asked if their daughter, who they had nicknamed Ladybird, would have survived, a doctor told them: "Well, you could have miscarried anyway."
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Through his remissions, they pursued fertility treatments and rounds of IVF, but miscarried each time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Two horses were dead when he arrived, including a foal that appeared stillborn or miscarried.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Eventually, she began to see brown discharge and was taken to an off-site hospital where, days later, health care providers confirmed she had miscarried.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2025
She began to imagine how old that last miscarried child would be now.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
Most disturbing of all, women who were actively miscarrying, an already physically painful and emotionally shattering experience, said they were ignored entirely by facility staff.
From Slate ● Dec. 8, 2025
As she was miscarrying and bleeding profusely, she said physicians didn’t explain that she had options for care.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2025
ProPublica previously reported on two such cases in which miscarrying women in Texas died of sepsis after doctors delayed evacuating their uteruses.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025
"I was not prepared for the shock of miscarrying at work during my first pregnancy," she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2025
Miscarriage, mis-kar′ij, n. the act of miscarrying: failure: ill-conduct: the act of bringing forth young prematurely.—v.i.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
