What does mislabelled mean?
Mislabelled means incorrectly labelled, named, identified, or classified. It describes a situation in which an item or record has been given a label that does not accurately identify it. For example, a medicine bottle may be mislabelled, an archaeological specimen may be mislabelled with the wrong date, or a dataset may contain mislabelled examples. The term conveys that an identifying or descriptive mark is present but wrong, rather than simply missing, as with an unlabelled object. It is useful in discussions of safety, scientific research, museums, manufacturing, retail, and data quality because a wrong label can cause serious confusion. British English commonly uses “mislabelled” with two l’s, while US English generally uses “mislabeled” with one.
adjectiveIncorrectly labelled or identified. A mislabelled item is one that has been given the wrong label, name, description, or classification.
- Incorrectly labelled, named, identified, or classified.
"The museum withdrew the mislabelled artefact after discovering that it had been incorrectly dated."
"The bottle was mislabelled, so the medicine was recalled."
"The researchers found that several samples in the archive had been mislabelled."
In British spelling, the double “l” is a familiar clue: “mislabelled” is the common British form, while American English usually writes “mislabeled.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mislabelled come from?
The word combines the prefix “mis-” with “labelled,” meaning “labelled incorrectly.” “Label” comes through Old French from the Latin “labellum,” meaning a small label or strip, and developed into the English words “label,” “labelling,” and “labeller.” The prefix “mis-” is an English-forming prefix inherited ultimately from Latin and is widely used to indicate error, as in “mistake” and “misread.”
Related word forms
How mislabelled is actually used
The standard British spelling is “mislabelled,” with two l’s; the standard US spelling is “mislabeled,” with one. The word is commonly used for products, specimens, data, artworks, documents, and other items whose identifying label or description is wrong.
Easily confused with mislabelled
An unlabelled item has no label, whereas a mislabelled item has a label that is wrong.
A misdescribed item is incorrectly explained or represented, not necessarily given the wrong label.