How to Use mishandle in a Sentence

mishandle

verb
  • The shortstop mishandled the throw.
  • The quarterback fumbled when he mishandled the snap.
  • Apples are easily bruised when they are mishandled.
  • The police mishandled the investigation.
  • Got caught a couple of times and mishandled some pucks, which is very rare for him.
    — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Some of the uptick in bear nuisance reports is caused by campers who mishandle their food.
    — Bob Timmons, Star Tribune, 3 Aug. 2020
  • The quarterback mishandles the snap and heaves the ball, which is picked off.
    — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 18 Oct. 2025
  • The odds that tonight's winner might mishandle their winnings?
    — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE.com, 29 July 2022
  • The Wildcats mishandled the inbounds pass and didn't get a shot off.
    — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026
  • In the fourth, the Broncos mishandled a snap and were unable to get a punt off from their own goal line.
    — Alex Kushel, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Aug. 2019
  • The heat wave has gone down in history as being grossly mishandled by the city.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 1 July 2026
  • All thought the tool was being badly mishandled and at risk of being busted.
    — Michael Lewis, The Hive, 2 Aug. 2017
  • All thought the tool was being badly mishandled and at risk of being busted.
    — Michael Lewis, vanityfair.com, 26 July 2017
  • While rare, copperheads can bite if they’re mishandled or feel threatened.
    — Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Pass mishandled his first snap, and Murray State ran it in for a touchdown.
    — Jake Lourim, The Courier-Journal, 30 Sep. 2017
  • This is not the first time Sohail has been accused of mishandling vaccines.
    — Alexia Fernandez, PEOPLE.com, 26 Feb. 2018
  • Last month the court threw out the result of August’s poll because the count had been mishandled.
    — The Economist, 26 Oct. 2017
  • The data walked out the door the way it was supposed to — it was just mishandled by the people who collected it.
    — Kurt Wagner, Recode, 10 Apr. 2018
  • The Ravens mishandled a succession of key plays that could have made the game easier for them.
    — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, 24 Dec. 2017
  • Lamine Conte mishandled the ball in the back and lost it to Ernesto Corral.
    — Mobile Athletics, AL.com, 12 Oct. 2017
  • And a pivotal lead — one that would much later crack the case — was apparently mishandled.
    — Gus Garcia-Roberts, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Turang’s sacrifice bunt was mishandled at first base, putting runners on first and second.
    — ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The treasury secretary also has the power to withhold these funds if they are mishandled by the states.
    — Arthur Jones Ii, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Most Catholics would agree that any bishop found mishandling abuse claims or shuffling around abusive priests should be removed.
    — James Martin, WSJ, 20 May 2018
  • Saturday's event was aimed at healing the wounds of killing overlooked and mishandled 70 years ago.
    — Hanna Krueger, NOLA.com, 28 Apr. 2018
  • Tech giants such as Google and Facebook have come under fire for mishandling these issues.
    — Ben Brody, latimes.com, 11 June 2019
  • In the past, there have been instances of nuclear bases like Minot mishandling nuclear weapons.
    — Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Orders that leave our kitchen hot and carefully prepared sometimes arrive cold, spilled or mishandled.
    — Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
  • Employees mishandled the round and took its cap off, which caused the explosion, Domeny said.
    — Michael Katz and Nicole Blanchard, idahostatesman, 11 Apr. 2018
  • Hours before tipoff, Donovan warned about the dangers of mishandling the ball in transition.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mishandle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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