mishap

/ˌmɪsˈhæp/

/ˈmɪshæp/

Other forms: mishaps

Don’t cry over spilled milk, it is just a minor mishap — a misfortune. If the surgeon operates on the wrong leg when you go in for knee surgery? Now, that’s a mishap to get upset about.

You might assume that hap is short for happening, but it is actually an Old Norse word for "luck." So with mis ("bad") in front of it, it literally means “bad luck.” Mishaps can be accidents of great consequence or minimal consequence. People often say that an event went off “without a mishap,” meaning that it went smoothly. Hopefully this will be the case if you ever get knee surgery.

Definitions of mishap

1. noun

   an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate
   synonyms: bad luck, mischance

   type of:

   chance, fortune, hazard, luck

   an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
2. noun

   an instance of misfortune
   synonyms: misadventure, mischance

   types:

   accident

   an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury

   near miss

   an accidental collision that is narrowly avoided

   derailment

   an accident in which a train runs off its track

   ground loop

   a sharp uncontrollable turn made by an airplane while moving along the ground

   puncture

   loss of air pressure in a tire when a hole is made by some sharp object

   slip, trip

   an accidental misstep threatening (or causing) a fall

   crash

   (computer science) an event that causes a computer system to become inoperative

   fall, spill, tumble

   a sudden drop from an upright position

   collision

   an accident resulting from violent impact of a moving object

   crash, wreck

   a serious accident (usually involving one or more vehicles)

   accidental injury, injury

   an accident that results in physical damage or hurt

   shipwreck, wreck

   an accident that destroys a ship at sea

   casualty, fatal accident

   an accident that causes someone to die

   head crash

   (computer science) a crash of a read/write head in a hard disk drive (usually caused by contact of the head with the surface of the magnetic disk)

   type of:

   bad luck, misfortune

   unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event