misspeak
/mɪsˈspiːk/verb
misspeak is spelled M-I-S-S-P-E-A-K: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 39 million words in written English, the 191,932nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, misspeak means “To fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in misspeak?
| Letters | 8: M-I-S-S-P-E-A-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 39 million words; the 191,932nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is misspeak?
Misspeak appears about once in every 39 million words in written English, the 191,932nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce misspeak?
- UK /mɪsˈspiːk/
Misspeak has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-misspeak.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with misspeak?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as misspeak from its last stressed vowel (/ik/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of misspeak
- misspeaks present, singular, he/she/it
- misspeaking participle, present
- misspoke past
- misspoken participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does misspeak mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
USTo fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly.
Either I misspoke or you misheard.
- 2
obsoleteTo speak insultingly or disrespectfully.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Misspeak in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | versprechen |
| Portuguese | falar errado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does misspeak come from?
From Middle English misspeken, mispeken, mysspeken, from Old English *misspecan, missprecan (“to murmur”), equivalent to mis- + speak.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).