mismatch

1 of 2

noun

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

She 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

mismatch

2 of 2

verb

mis·​match ˌmis-ˈmach 

mismatched; mismatching

transitive verb

: 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

Examples of mismatch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

One big problem: Factories require huge capital costs, but construction is cyclical, an inherent mismatch. —Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024

The Lakers’ switch-heavy defense has far too often allowed opponents to successfully target mismatches. —Jovan Buha, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024

Verb

In the bathroom, the priority was definitely that main vanity area, so the cabinets, the big builder-grade mirror, the faucets that were mismatching, and an outdated light fixture that had the bolts falling out of it. —Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 29 Nov. 2024

The motion sought a brief delay in certifying election results to allow Navajo members time to fix early ballots rejected for missing or mismatched signatures. —Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1606, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1582, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

mismatch

verb

mis·​match

(ˈ)mis-ˈmach

: to match unsuitably or badly

mismatch noun