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

Mercury in your 4th House quincunxes Saturn in your 9th, creating a mismatch between private realities and bigger plans involving travel, education, beliefs, or the future. — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 9 Oct. 2026

The current variant, H3N2 subclade K, appears similar to last year’s strain and is included in this year’s vaccine, reducing concern about a major mismatch between the vaccine and the flu strain, Chin-Hong said. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Verb

At Dior, artist Ama Quashie mismatched red and burgundy on hands and feet using Dior Vernis in a deep oxblood 047 Nuit shade on nails and cherry 853 Rouge Trafalgar on toes. — Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

If the defect is a missing or mismatched identification number, it can be cured on the Ballot by Mail Tracker. — Digital Producer, CBS News, 7 Oct. 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
• bache
• batch
• brach
• catch
• hatch

Kids Definition

mismatch

verb

mis·​match

(ˈ)mis-ˈmach

: to match unsuitably or badly

mismatch noun