misclassify

verb

mis·​clas·​si·​fy ˌmis-ˈkla-sə-ˌfī 

misclassified; misclassifying

transitive verb

: to assign (someone or something) to an incorrect group or category : to classify wrongly

a species misclassified in the wrong genus

misclassified

ˌmis-ˈkla-sə-ˌfīd 

adjective

misclassified workers/employees

Examples of misclassify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Skeptics warn that companies also have an incentive to underreport or misclassify safety incidents. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

It should be read as a warning about how easily headline metrics can misclassify exclusion as progress. — Katica Roy, Fortune, 14 July 2026

Official statistics undercount or misclassify incidents, especially with unreported crimes, and policies that treat repeat offenses leniently. — Jeff Horseman, Oc Register, 5 May 2026

Its outdated reasoning is likely to misclassify customers and cause potential losses. — Chongwei Chen, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for misclassify

• acidify
• alveoli
• antinomy
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• diversify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify