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

Almost every opinion mismatch can be worked through with patient communication. —Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2026

Potter, 6-9, also seized on mismatches. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026

Verb

Green can lanterns and mismatched chairs make the environment casual, but the menu feels more elevated for its affordable prices. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2026

The old-school charm inside the small restaurant recreates the feeling of dining in your grandmother’s kitchen, with bentwood chairs, mismatched dishes and big platters of rib-sticking dishes being passed around crowded tables. —Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 6 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1606, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1582, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mismatch

• attach
• bycatch
• despatch
• detach
• dispatch
• nuthatch
• potlatch
• toothache
• bache
• batch
• brach
• catch

Kids Definition

mismatch

verb

mis·​match

(ˈ)mis-ˈmach

: to match unsuitably or badly

mismatch noun