misdeliver
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To deliver to the wrong address: The act of taking a letter, package, or other item to an incorrect location or recipient.
Usage
- This verb is used to describe an error made during the delivery process of mail or goods.
- It is typically used in the passive voice or with a direct object (what was delivered incorrectly).
- The word focuses specifically on the delivery action itself being erroneous.
Examples
- Verb:
- The post office confirmed they misdelivered my package to a neighbor.
- Important documents were misdelivered, causing a significant delay.
- Please check with your neighbors; the courier may have misdelivered it.
Advanced Usage
- "to be misdelivered": The common passive form describing the state of an item.
- My letter was misdelivered to the wrong apartment building.
- "misdelivery" (noun): The act or an instance of delivering incorrectly.
- The company apologized for the misdelivery of the order.
Variants and Related Words
- Misdelivery (n): The act or an instance of incorrect delivery.
- The misdelivery was due to a clerical error in the address.
- Undeliverable (adj): Describes an item that cannot be delivered at all, often for reasons like an incorrect or incomplete address. (Note: This is a different, though related, concept focusing on failure rather than erroneous action.)
Synonyms
- Misaddress: To address an item to the wrong place or person (this error happens before delivery).
- Misroute: To send something along the wrong path or channel.
Notes on Meaning
- Misdeliver specifically implies the delivery agent performed the final act of handing over or leaving the item at the wrong location. The fault lies with the delivery action.
- It is distinct from misaddress, which implies the error was in the written address before the delivery was attempted.
- It is also distinct from general terms like lose or misplace, which do not specify the delivery phase as the point of error.
Verb
- deliver to the wrong address