miscalculate

verb

mis·​cal·​cu·​late ˌmis-ˈkal-kyə-ˌlāt 

miscalculated; miscalculating

transitive + intransitive

: to calculate wrongly : to make a miscalculation

This fall, publishers badly miscalculated the public's appetite for celebrity tell-alls.

—Patrick M. Reilly

… the bosses simply weren't ready when it turned out they had miscalculated badly.

—Kevin Drum

Synonyms

• misconceive
• misdeem
• misestimate
• misgauge
• misjudge
• mismeasure
• mistake

Examples of miscalculate in a Sentence

they miscalculated how difficult the mountainous trek would be

Recent Examples on the Web

Turkish officials likely foresaw the regime’s collapse but miscalculated how feeble Russian and Iranian backing had become. —Guney Yildiz, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

For the first half-century of the Super Bowl era, teams were simply miscalculating the risk versus reward of going for it. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 28 Nov. 2024

Too many state officials have not yet learned that lesson. Correction, November 13, 6 pm ET: An earlier version of this story miscalculated the number of pedestrian fatalities on Roosevelt Boulevard in 2022. —David Zipper, Vox, 13 Nov. 2024

Clothes — a common but often miscalculated gift — jewelry, and household goods can all go to a Goodwill location or a local family shelter. —Whizy Kim, Vox, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

miscalculate

verb

mis·​cal·​cu·​late

(ˈ)mis-ˈkal-kyə-ˌlāt

: to calculate wrongly : make a mistake in calculation

miscalculation

ˌmis-ˌkal-kyə-ˈlā-shən

noun