mishap (noun)
Meaning: An unfortunate or unlucky incident, often resulting in minor or temporary harm, damage, or inconvenience.
Examples:
- The picnic was going well until a sudden rainstorm turned it into a mishap.
- She narrowly avoided a mishap when her car's brakes suddenly failed.
- The mishap with the computer system caused a delay in processing orders.
Synonyms: accident, misfortune, setback
Antonyms: success, triumph, accomplishment
Collocations:
- Traffic mishap: A minor accident or incident involving vehicles on the road.
- Mishap-prone: Describing a person or situation that tends to experience a lot of accidents or misfortunes.
- Mishap recovery: The process of recovering from a setback or unfortunate incident.
Idioms:
- Laugh off a mishap: To respond to a minor problem or incident with humor and light-heartedness.
- Turn a mishap into an opportunity: To make the best of a difficult situation and find a positive outcome.
- Mishaps will happen: A saying that acknowledges the inevitability of accidents and misfortunes.
Expressions:
- Avoid mishaps: To take precautions or make decisions to prevent accidents or misfortunes.
- Mishap-prone area: A location or situation where accidents or incidents are more likely to occur.
- Mishap investigation: The process of examining the causes and circumstances of an accident or incident.
Word family:
- mishaply (adverb) - in a manner that results in a mishap.
- mishappening (noun) - an event that involves a mishap or unfortunate incident.
- mishapen (adjective) - having experienced a mishap or unfortunate incident.
Root and Meaning:The word "mishap" does not have a clear root in the sense of a specific linguistic origin. It is believed to have been formed by combining the prefix "mis-" (meaning "bad" or "wrong") and the word "hap" (an older term for "chance" or "fortune"). "Mishap" essentially conveys the idea of a negative or unfortunate occurrence by chance.
Part of Speech: Noun
- Collocation
mishap (n.)
- suffer a mishap/accident
- meet with a mishap/accident
- experience a mishap/incident
- have/face/encounter a mishap/setback
- avoid/escape/meet a mishap/accident
- report/describe a mishap/accident/incident
- investigate a mishap/accident/incident
- experience minor mishaps/delays/issues
- due to a mishap/accident/mistake
- caused by a mishap/error/malfunction
- something went mishap/wrong/awry
- vehicle/equipment/machinery mishap
- medical/laboratory/engineering mishap
- avoid potential mishaps/hazards/risks
Mishap refers to an unlucky incident or minor accident, especially one that is caused by mistake or error. It is commonly used with words like suffer, experience, face, encounter, and often modified by nouns involving vehicles, machinery, equipment or activities like medical or engineering. Phrases emphasize happening by chance or due to mistakes or malfunctions. Mishaps are usually minor in nature compared to more serious accidents. Contexts involving potential risks, setbacks or things going wrong are suitable for this word.
- She suffered a mishap on her way to work when her car broke down.
- They were fortunate to avoid a mishap by taking an alternate route during heavy traffic.
- The construction project faced minor mishaps due to unexpected weather conditions.
- The company had to delay the launch of the product due to a mishap with the manufacturing equipment.
- A mishap with the laboratory equipment caused the experiment to fail.
- Despite their efforts to avoid potential mishaps, a safety incident occurred on the construction site.
- The team is investigating the mishap that led to the system malfunction.
- He was involved in a vehicle mishap when his car collided with another vehicle.
- A series of medical mishaps raised concerns about patient safety at the hospital.
- They were able to escape the mishap and prevent any serious damage.
These examples showcase different contexts in which the term "mishap" can be used to describe unfortunate incidents, accidents, and setbacks that occur unexpectedly.