misstep

noun mis·step \ -ˈstep \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of misstep

1 : a mistake in judgment or action : blunder

2 : a wrong step

See misstep defined for English-language learners

See misstep defined for kids

Examples of misstep in a Sentence

Their decision to relocate the company was a major misstep.
another misstep like that, and the company could go belly-up

Recent Examples of misstep from the Web

Custom Biogenic Systems said its initial investigation during the past month concluded that missteps were made at the clinic run by University Hospitals in suburban Cleveland.

— Fox News, "Company: Storage tank didn't cause fertility clinic failure," 10 Apr. 2018
Since the war’s earliest days, American efforts to talk to top Taliban leaders have been marred by ambivalence, miscommunication and missteps.

— greg jaffe, Washington Post, "A Dubai shopping trip and a missed chance to capture the head of the Taliban," 24 Mar. 2018
Wells Fargo is dealing with repercussions from a fake-account scandal announced in 2016 and other missteps.

— katherine chiglinsky, Bloomberg.com, "Wells Fargo Risk-Management Leaders Leave in Revamp," 23 Mar. 2018
More of the President's Cabinet will trek to Capitol Hill this week to testify on their respective agency's budgets, but expect some to face tough questions over lavish spending and public missteps.

— deirdre walsh, CNN, "Capitol Hill's stacked to-do list before leaving town: Averting a government shutdown, war powers debate," 19 Mar. 2018
Even though all the American restaurateurs The Chronicle spoke to praised the talent and devotion to detail of their Korean and Japanese partners, missteps in Asia won’t damage the core brand the way one in New York or Las Vegas might.

— jonathan kauffman, San Francisco Chronicle, "SF’s best bakeries thriving in Seoul as demand, entrepreneurial spirit rise," 18 Mar. 2018
Essentially, Broadcast News is about three separate characters and their combined pratfalls and missteps.

— tyler coates, Esquire, "Broadcast News Taught Me How to Be Human," 18 Dec. 2017
The film’s erasure of women of color and missteps on race send the message that cis, straight, able-bodied, white womanhood is prioritized above all else.

— cameron glover, Harper's BAZAAR, "Why Wonder Woman Is Bittersweet for Black Women," 9 June 2017
Inside the White House on Friday, staffers expressed frustration by the optics of Pruitt’s living arrangements, which come on the heels of the dismissal of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin over ethical missteps.

— BostonGlobe.com, "EPA chief Scott Pruitt paid $50 a night for D.C. condo linked to lobbyist," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'misstep.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.