What does mishear mean?
Mishear means to hear something incorrectly. It is especially common when a name, place, or short statement is difficult to distinguish because of background noise, an unfamiliar accent, or similar-sounding words. The verb is normally transitive: someone may mishear a name, a price, or what another person said. It differs from misunderstand, which focuses on failing to interpret information correctly, whereas mishear identifies the error as occurring in the initial act of hearing. The past tense is misheard, and the gerund is mishearing. The word is natural in both British and American English and can describe either a momentary misunderstanding or a more serious failure to receive information accurately.
verbTo hear something incorrectly, especially a word, name, or piece of information. It is the past tense of mishear.
- To hear a word, name, or piece of information incorrectly.
"I misheard the station name and nearly got off at the wrong stop."
"She misheard her colleague's question and answered the wrong one."
"I thought I heard a knock at the door, but I had misheard the sound entirely."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mishear come from?
Mishear is an English compound formed from the prefix mis-, meaning wrongly or incorrectly, and the verb hear. It belongs to a productive pattern in which mis- turns a verb into a form indicating an incorrect performance of its action. Related words such as hearing, hearken, and hearsay share the older English root associated with hearing and listening.
Related word forms
How mishear is actually used
Mishear is usually transitive and takes a direct object, as in “I misheard your name.” It describes an error in hearing rather than a failure to understand what was heard, although the misunderstanding resulting from the error is often implied.