Meaning & use
mis-hit
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To hit a ball or object badly or in the wrong way, so it does not go where you intended.
Grammar: Can be used with an object (mis-hit the ball) or without (he mis-hit).
Patterns
- mis-hit something
- mis-hit by accident
She mis-hit the ball and it went straight into the net.
He mis-hit his shot and the ball flew over the fence.
If you mis-hit, the ball will not travel far.
nouncountable
A bad or faulty hit, especially in sports like tennis or golf.
Grammar: Countable: one mis-hit, two mis-hits.
Patterns
- a mis-hit
- make a mis-hit
His first serve was a complete mis-hit.
The golfer's mis-hit sent the ball into the sand trap.
Word forms
| third person singular | mis-hits |
|---|---|
| past tense | mis-hit |
| past participle | mis-hit |
| -ing form | mis-hitting |
| plural | mis-hits |
Common combinations
- mis-hit the ball
- The player mis-hit the ball and lost the point.
- a complete mis-hit
- The shot was a complete mis-hit.
- mis-hit a shot
- He mis-hit his shot in the final minute.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mishit
- This is the same word without a hyphen; both spellings are correct.
- muff
- Muff is informal and means to fail to catch or hit a ball, but it is less common in modern sports writing.
Opposites
Word family
- hit verb
- To strike something with force.
- hitter noun
- A person who hits, especially in sports.
Commonly confused: mis-hit or miss?
mis-hit vs miss
Miss means to fail to hit or reach something, while mis-hit means to hit it badly but still make contact.
Practice
The tennis player ______ the ball and it went out of the court.
Choose one answer.
The past tense of 'mis-hit' is 'mis-hit', so it fits here. 'Mis-hitting' is the -ing form and would need a helping verb like 'was'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mis-hit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.