mislay

verb

mis·​lay ˌmis-ˈlā How to pronounce mislay (audio)
mislaid ˌmis-ˈlād How to pronounce mislay (audio) ; mislaying

transitive verb

: to put in an unremembered place : lose
he mislaid his car keys

Examples of mislay in a Sentence

I'm always mislaying my bus pass.
Recent Examples on the Web If there was a gift table at the wedding, there is always the possibility that one or more of the gifts was mislaid. Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023 The footage confiscated by the bank was donated in 2010 to the Panamanian Ministry of Culture, and subsequently mislaid; by chance, further reels were found by Gaisseau’s widow in a family friend’s home. Guy Lodge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023 Even the fates of individual pieces, a surprising number of which have since been stolen or mislaid, sold or melted down to make something new, echo the unpredictable evolution of the culture itself. Daniel Levin Becker Jessica Pettway, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2023 Theft There was a report June 1 of theft of a lost or mislaid property item following an incident in the 1500 block of East Deerfield Parkway. Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2023 Starring and co-written by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Danish polar explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen, this is a potentially fascinating true story in which the pedestrian script and journeyman direction mislay the suspense — unless ropey CG polar bears give you a thrill. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2022 According to a survey of workers in America and the U.K., the loss in productivity from forgetting or mislaying passwords comes to at least U.S. $420 per employee annually. Marie Kondo, Marie Claire, 6 Apr. 2020 What counts is the manner of slaughter, and—this being the most courteous of films—the vital importance of never mislaying one’s cool. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2019 It’s not mislaid soup spoons or white shoes after Labor Day unsettling me. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mislay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mislay was in 1614

Dictionary Entries Near mislay

Cite this Entry

“Mislay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mislay. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mislay

verb
mis·​lay (ˈ)mis-ˈlā How to pronounce mislay (audio)
mislaid -ˈlād How to pronounce mislay (audio) ; mislaying
: to put in a place later forgotten : lose
mislaid the car keys

More from Merriam-Webster on mislay

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