mistimed; mistiming

transitive verb

1
: to time (something) wrongly or improperly
Sometimes players will mistime their entry into the zone—skating slightly ahead of the puck—and get whistled for offsides.Jesse Granger
2
: to reckon or state the time of (something) incorrectly
Imboden … appears to confuse this early altercation with a later, more famous, instance. … It is possible that Imboden had completely mistimed the episode.Frank E. Vandiver

Examples of mistime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Barrero took a jagged route to the ball, mistimed his slide and saw the ball roll right by him. Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 23 Apr. 2023 Like so much else about the product unveiling, this pitch felt mistimed. Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 6 June 2023 Kartik Tyagi finally provided the breakthrough when Head mistimed and holed out at mid-on to the fast bowler’s 142kph short-of-length delivery. ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026 The outstanding Adam Wharton clipped a glorious pass into the penalty area, but an unmarked Tyrick Mitchell mistimed his header and could only direct the ball wide from close range. Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for mistime

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mistime was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mistime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mistime. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Kids Definition

mistime

verb
mis·​time
(ˈ)mis-ˈtīm
: to time wrongly
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