misquote

1 of 2

noun

mis·​quote ˈmis-ˌkwōt How to pronounce misquote (audio)
 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 How to pronounce misquote (audio)
 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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Perhaps Starboard could do without the occasional asides about removing CEOs at other companies, which ended up getting misquoted and misconstrued into highly disrespectful, unwarranted, and premature calls for Bourla’s removal. Owen Tripp, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024 Ariana Grande It’s been an absolute joy to listen to these remixes with my coworkers—all of whom are journalists who would never misquote something. Vogue, 11 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for misquote 

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1855, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1644, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of misquote was in 1644

Dictionary Entries Near misquote

Cite this Entry

“Misquote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misquote. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

misquote

verb
mis·​quote
(ˈ)mis-ˈkwōt
: to quote incorrectly
misquotation
ˌmis-kwō-ˈtā-shən
noun

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