miscarry

/ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/

//ˌmɪsˈkæɹi// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"miscarry" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“miscarry” is uncommon English (frequency #76,993 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,993
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To have an unfortunate accident of some kind; to be killed, or come to harm.

Corpus desk

Index EN-miscarry · miscarry · English

miscarry · rank #76,993 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,993
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mischievously

Nearest frequency peer: mischievously (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “miscarry”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “miscarry” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for miscarry
PropertyValue
Headwordmiscarry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/
Letters8
Frequency rank#76,993
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “miscarry” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).miscarryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “mischievously” (#76,994), “milepost” (#76,990), “Misrata” (#76,996). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “miscarry” is #76,993. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

miscarry is uncommon English at frequency #76,993 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for miscarry in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English miscarien. By surface analysis, mis- + carry. The correct English form is miscarry, spelled M-I-S-C-A-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    To have an unfortunate accident of some kind; to be killed, or come to harm.
  2. 2
    To go astray; to do something wrong.
  3. 3
    To have a miscarriage; to involuntarily abort a foetus.
  4. 4
    To fail to achieve some purpose; to be unsuccessful, to go wrong (of a business, project etc.).
  5. 5
    Of a letter etc.: to fail to reach its intended recipient.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how miscarry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. So, if a Sonne that is by his Father ſent about Merchandize, doe ſinfully miſcarry vpon the Sea; the imputation of his vvickedneſſe, by your rule, ſhould be impoſed vpon his Father that ſent him: […]
  2. Pluto observing, since the Peace, The Burial Article decrease; And, vext to see Affairs miscarry, Declar'd in Council, Death must marry […]

Etymology

From Middle English miscarien. By surface analysis, mis- + carry.

This word in other languages

misslingen(Deutsch)abortar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "miscarry"?
"miscarry" is spelled M-I-S-C-A-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/.
What does "miscarry" mean?
As a verb, "miscarry" means: To have an unfortunate accident of some kind; to be killed, or come to harm.
How do you pronounce "miscarry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "miscarry" is /ˌmɪsˈkæɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "miscarry"?
From Middle English miscarien. By surface analysis, mis- + carry. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "miscarry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

milepost#76,990merengue#76,986moralist#77,003Malvinas#76,973

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list