misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

misdirected; misdirecting; misdirects

transitive verb

1

: to give a wrong direction to

2

: to direct wrongly

misdirected their energies

Examples of misdirect in a Sentence

Their mail was misdirected to our address.

If he tells you he's not interested, he's trying to misdirect you.

Recent Examples on the Web

Their request comes after an official race vehicle misdirected the runners off the course, jeopardizing their qualification for the international team. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 6 Mar. 2026

The problem is that senior Air Force officials have suggested that images like this are deliberately designed to misdirect outside observers by including features that are definitely not part of the F-47. —David Szondy march 01, New Atlas, 1 Mar. 2026

When money is misdirected, working families and seniors pay the price. —Charlotte Observer, 14 Feb. 2026

Alerts are misinterpreted, escalations are delayed or misdirected, and response efforts slow as teams struggle to understand what their tools are telling them. —James Hadley, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for misdirect

• architect
• circumspect
• deselect
• dialect
• disconnect
• disinfect
• disrespect
• incorrect
• indirect
• intellect
• interject
• intersect

Kids Definition

misdirect

verb

mis·​di·​rect ˌmis-də-ˈrekt 

-(ˌ)dī-

: to direct incorrectly

misdirection

-ˈrek-shən

noun