misplace

From mis- + place.

• IPA^(key): /mɪsˈpleɪs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪs

misplace (third-person singular simple present misplaces, present participle misplacing, simple past and past participle misplaced)

1. (transitive) To put something somewhere and then forget its location; to mislay.

   I might have misplaced my umbrella; do you know where it is?

   • 2014 September 24, Jen Christensen, “Early memory lapses may be sign of dementia”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     At least once a week a patient will come into Dr. Thomas Loepfe’s busy geriatric clinic in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, with a worry. She will tell him she’s been misplacing her glasses lately, or he’ll say he’s concerned about losing the car keys.

   • 2017 November 27, Meadow Schroeder, “Signs of ADHD can be different in girls”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     She misplaces her things regularly (for example her phone, keys or bank card).

   • 2019 November 25, Jason Cipriani, “Tile’s Slim and Sticker trackers are affordable and provide peace of mind”, in CNN‎^[3]:

     I misplace my keys or wallet on a daily basis. Sometimes multiple times a day.

2. (figuratively) To apply one's talents inappropriately.
   • 2024 June 16, Senay Boztas, “‘The brain is very vulnerable’: Dutch cyclists urged to wear helmets as road deaths rise”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

     Bart Groothuijze, who runs the Castodian foundation promoting safer motorbiking, blames a misplaced sense of freedom and vanity.

3. To put something in the wrong location.
   • 1808, R.s. Skillern, A New System of English Grammar, page 128:

     Every word in English of more than one Syllable has a fixed accent established by the custom of the language, to misplace which is as offensive to the propriety of speech, as to missound the vowel.

• mislay