mislay
/mɪsˈleɪ/
"mislay" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mislay” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To leave or lay something in the wrong place and then forget where one put it.
Corpus desk
Index EN-mislay · mislay · English
mislay · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mislay |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /mɪsˈleɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “mislay” in English
Rare enough to double-check
mislay is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /mɪsˈleɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
mislay doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mysse layen, equivalent to mis- + lay. The correct English form is mislay, spelled M-I-S-L-A-Y.
Definition
- 1To leave or lay something in the wrong place and then forget where one put it.
- 2To err in placing something.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how mislay appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He cannot see well, mislays his glasses, and frequently mismends the nets.
[F]ire, if it be well and rightly vſed, burneth in the houſe to the good and pꝛofit of the familie: but if miſlayed oꝛ abuſed, burneth the houſe to the vndoing of the inhabitantes: […]
Etymology
From Middle English mysse layen, equivalent to mis- + lay.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.