What does miscarrying mean?
Miscarrying is the present participle of miscarry, meaning to experience the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the fetus can survive independently. It is commonly used in medical contexts and can describe both the process itself and a person undergoing it: for example, a clinician may say that a patient is miscarrying because she is experiencing bleeding, pain, or other symptoms associated with pregnancy loss. The term distinguishes a spontaneous event from a pregnancy deliberately ended through an abortion, though clinical definitions can vary with gestational age. In general writing, miscarriage is usually the more familiar noun, while miscarrying is used when the focus is on the ongoing action or its medical recognition. The word appears frequently in discussions of reproductive health, pregnancy care, and the causes and consequences of early pregnancy loss.
verbMiscarrying means experiencing the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the fetus can survive independently. It is the present participle of the verb miscarry.
- To experience the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the fetus can survive independently.
"She was miscarrying when the severe pain began."
"The doctor explained that she was miscarrying and would need monitoring."
"Pregnant patients who are miscarrying may experience bleeding and abdominal pain."
Miscarrying names an involuntary process: the body ends a pregnancy without the deliberate intervention usually associated with abortion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of miscarrying
The word combines the prefix mis-, indicating an unfavorable or wrong outcome, with carry, meaning to transport or bear. Carry comes through Old French carier from Latin carrus, a term associated with a wheeled vehicle or cart. Words such as carriage, carrier, and cargo developed from the same Latin root, although they acquired different meanings over time.
Related word forms
How miscarrying is actually used
This is primarily a medical and formal term. It is used for a pregnancy loss that occurs spontaneously; the clinical boundary between miscarriage and other pregnancy losses can depend on gestational age and medical criteria.
Easily confused with miscarrying
Miscarrying names the action of losing a pregnancy spontaneously, whereas miscarriage names the resulting event or condition.
Aborting can refer to the deliberate ending of a pregnancy, while miscarrying specifically describes a spontaneous pregnancy loss.