What does mishap mean?
Word: Mishap
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Mishap means a small accident or piece of bad luck that does not cause serious harm.
How do you spell mishap?
Syllables: mis - hap
Tricky part: It sounds as if it begins with miss, but there is only one s. Say it as mis-hap, not mi-shap, and the letters fall into place.
Watch out for: misshap, missap
Memory tip: One small slip, one s: a mishap is a little accident, and it gets just one s.
Mishap in a sentence
Example 1: A jar of paint tipped over on art day, but the mishap was soon mopped up.
Example 2: After a small mishap with the tent poles, the scouts finally set up camp.
Example 3: Emma's first try at baking ended in a mishap: she used salt instead of sugar.
Fun Fact
NASA, the US space agency, uses the word mishap in its official safety rules for unplanned events that damage equipment.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
sapmhi 123456
a) 461523
b) 462513
c) 461532
d) 641523
Show answer
a) 461523. Read the jumbled letters in the order of the code and you get the word for a small accident.
Spell Probe
Find the misspelt word in the sentence and choose its meaning:
On the school picnic, the only mishapp was a basket of oranges that rolled all the way down the hill.
a) a container made of woven strips
b) something that goes slightly wrong by chance
c) a raised area of land
d) a meal eaten outdoors on a trip
Show answer
b) something that goes slightly wrong by chance. Mishap ends with a single p; the misspelt word names the little thing that went wrong.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
i, a
a) k_tch_p
b) g_ll_p
c) t_l_p
d) m_sh_p
Show answer
d) m_sh_p. Gallop takes a and o, tulip u and i, and ketchup e and u, so only one word fits.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its synonym:
1. mishap 2. tidy 3. huge a. neat b. enormous c. hitch
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. A mishap is a hitch, tidy goes with neat and huge with enormous.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which word best describes a mishap?
a) minor
b) planned
c) tragic
d) enormous
Show answer
a) minor
2. Which of these can often lead to a mishap?
a) being fast asleep in bed
b) reading quietly
c) being in too much of a hurry
d) sitting very still
Show answer
c) being in too much of a hurry
