misquote

1 of 2

noun

mis·​quote ˈmis-ˌkwōt 

 also  -ˌkōt

plural misquotes

: an act or instance of quoting something incorrectly : misquotation

"If it doesn't show up in the drug controls, then it's not doping," [Michele] Ferrari was quoted as having said (a statement he has since characterized as a misquote) …

—Bill Gifford

They will defend his every misquote and misuse of scripture as the shortcomings of a new believer or even the second coming of Cyrus.

—Erick Erickson

misquote

2 of 2

verb

mis·​quote ˌmis-ˈkwōt 

 also  -ˈkōt

misquoted; misquoting

transitive + intransitive

: to quote (someone or something) incorrectly

… when it quickly became clear that these were not the facts, he took refuge in the trapped politician's standard excuse: The press had misquoted him.

—Geoffrey C. Ward

He misquotes frequently, providing others with opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine.

—Susan Rusinko

Examples of misquote in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Misinformation, conspiracies, misquotes and binary extremes are all the rage because that’s where the money is, in both political coverage and entertainment journalism. —Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024

One New York Times article that cited Gallant’s mangled misquote sourced the words to an op-ed in another outlet, which sourced them to an X post that featured an embedded TikTok video. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2024

Verb

Anyone who even hints at canceling the greatest rivalry in college sports is either being misquoted or is unwell and should be hospitalized. —Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 7 Aug. 2024

Shen Williams-Cohen Corrections: An earlier version of this article misquoted Ife Olujobi in a few instances. —Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1855, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1644, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

misquote

verb

mis·​quote

(ˈ)mis-ˈkwōt

: to quote incorrectly

misquotation

ˌmis-kwō-ˈtā-shən

noun