misallocation

noun

mis·​al·​lo·​ca·​tion ˌmis-ˌa-lə-ˈkā-shən 

plural misallocations

: the act or an instance of misallocating something (such as money or resources) : poor or improper allocation

misallocation of tax dollars

And there are many who would say that any interference with a free market system … inevitably results in misallocations of resources just because planners cannot be omniscient.

—R. Weiss et al.

Examples of misallocation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Europe’s predicament completes this global triangle of talent misallocation. —Moin Roberts-Islam, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025

That misallocation of resources has had an impact: between 9/11 and the end of 2017, two-thirds of violent Islamist plots in the United States were interrupted in the planning phase, compared with less than one-third of violent far-right plots. —Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2021

That kind of misallocation can be traced back to one of those problems that is unique to American medicine: the high cost of a medical education. —Dylan Scott, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Our findings therefore point to a misallocation of public capital, and substantial underinvestment in nondefense R&D. —John Drake, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1916, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misallocation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration