mis·match
ˈmis-ˌmach 
plural mismatches
: a faulty or unsuitable match
New England plays St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI this evening, and on the face of it, this game is a mismatch, a blowout waiting to happen.—
William C. Rhoden
William C. RhodenShe is blood type O, and the donor heart and lungs she received in the first operation were blood type A. That mismatch triggered rejection by her immune system.—Dan Vergano
Dan Vergano
mis·match
ˌmis-ˈmach
mismatched; mismatching
: to match (two people or things) wrongly or unsuitably
Let's say that you are afraid of boring your audience. One cause is mismatching the audience's need and the level of detail you provide.—Liz Reyer
Liz ReyerExamples of mismatch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
This time, Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber’s couple-style quotient seems to fall somewhere between a total mismatch and perfect agreement.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 6 Feb. 2025
Julianna Bragg, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025
Pippi Longstocking Turns 80 First introduced in 1945, Pippi Longstocking—with her fiery red hair, mismatched stockings, and boundless imagination—captured hearts everywhere with her fearless independence and whimsical adventures.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
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Noun
Creighton does not possess the shooters that Villanova has, but the Bluejays present a mismatch that few other teams rival.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
This time, Hailey Bieber and Justin Bieber’s couple-style quotient seems to fall somewhere between a total mismatch and perfect agreement.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 6 Feb. 2025
Verb
The researchers generated mismatched magnetic fields by combining the inclination from one geographic location with the intensity from another, swapping the values throughout the trials.
—Julianna Bragg, CNN, 12 Feb. 2025
Pippi Longstocking Turns 80 First introduced in 1945, Pippi Longstocking—with her fiery red hair, mismatched stockings, and boundless imagination—captured hearts everywhere with her fearless independence and whimsical adventures.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
Cite this Entry
“Mismatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mismatch. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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