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
William C. RhodenShe 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
Dan Vergano
mis·match
ˌmis-ˈmach
mismatched; mismatching
: 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
Liz ReyerExamples of mismatch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs' offense looked much different after Week 7, when wide receiver Rashee Rice returned from his six-game suspension and rookie running back Brashard Smith again showed why the Chiefs drafted him as a speed mismatch.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Glassware Glassware, even mismatched pieces, is an excellent second-hand buy.
—Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
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Noun
Those are mismatches that having two really good tight ends does for you.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs' offense looked much different after Week 7, when wide receiver Rashee Rice returned from his six-game suspension and rookie running back Brashard Smith again showed why the Chiefs drafted him as a speed mismatch.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
But with so much user engagement on TV screens, the mobile focus of the first batch of games appears to have been mismatched with the rest of the product.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
Glassware Glassware, even mismatched pieces, is an excellent second-hand buy.
—Nicole Letts, Southern Living, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
Cite this Entry
“Mismatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mismatch. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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