miscue

1 of 2

noun

mis·​cue ˌmis-ˈkyü 

ˈmis-ˌkyü

1

: a faulty stroke in billiards in which the cue slips

2

: mistake, slip

miscue

2 of 2

verb

miscued; miscuing; miscues

intransitive verb

: to make a miscue

Synonyms

Noun

• blunder
• bobble
• boo-boo
• boob [British]
• brick
• clanger [British]
• clinker
• error
• fault
• flub
• fluff
• fumble
• gaff
• gaffe
• goof
• inaccuracy
• lapse
• misstep
• mistake
• oversight
• screwup
• slip
• slipup
• stumble
• trip

Examples of miscue in a Sentence

Noun

the slightest miscue could make the trapeze artist lose his grip and fall to the mat below

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

What's more, his shuffling gait and verbal miscues had raised questions about his fitness for office. —Susan Page, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025

Special teams miscues were particularly prominent in the first half of the season, including in narrow Week 2 and 3 losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams. —Matt Barrows, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025

Verb

After the break, Raphinha lobbed against the crossbar and Robert Lewandowski miscued when presented with the game’s simplest chance (although a VAR review might have disallowed the goal for offside). —Michael Cox, The Athletic, 23 Dec. 2024

Shortly afterwards, the Juve no.10 miscued on a cross from the lively Andrea Cambiaso, only for the Bianconeri to recreate the opportunity just minutes later through Conceicao and this time Yildiz would make no mistake. —Adam Digby, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1889, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

miscue

1 of 2 noun

mis·​cue (ˈ)mis-ˈkyü 

1

: a faulty stroke in billiards in which the cue slips

2

: mistake entry 2 sense 2, slip

miscue

2 of 2 verb

1

: to make a miscue

2

a

: to miss a stage cue

b

: to answer a wrong cue