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
Jason Liebowitz, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
That mismatch is killing some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, including California’s towering redwoods and the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of which store vast amounts of carbon and support complex webs of life.
—Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Stacks of matching fabric bundles will look calmer and more cohesive than mismatched plastic bins.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
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Noun
The result is a quiet but profound mismatch between what modern medicine was built to do—identify targets and take aim at them—and the kinds of suffering many patients now bring into the exam room.
—Jason Liebowitz, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026
That mismatch is killing some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, including California’s towering redwoods and the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of which store vast amounts of carbon and support complex webs of life.
—Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Verb
Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are mismatched detectives on the hunt for a madman enacting crimes in the style of the seven deadly sins.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Stacks of matching fabric bundles will look calmer and more cohesive than mismatched plastic bins.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mismatch
Cite this Entry
“Mismatch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mismatch. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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