wrong number
Americannoun
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(in telephoning)
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a call made to a number other than the one intended.
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the number or person reached through such a call.
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Slang.
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the wrong person for a particular task, role, or situation.
Me cook a gourmet dinner?—You've got the wrong number!
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an inadequate, disagreeable, or repulsive person.
She's OK, but her brother's a wrong number.
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noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the past, I’ve accidentally given incorrect public transit information when writing about how to get to a museum, or reported the wrong number of poles in the product description for a tent.
From Slate • Mar. 28, 2026
Suddenly, machines on the East Coast that tried to process trillions of requests were getting the internet’s equivalent of a wrong number.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025
According to the special counsel, however, that message — intended for a Republican lawmaker in Michigan — was sent to an undisclosed but definitely wrong number.
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2024
Pig butchering scammers often find their victims on dating sites or social media, or by calling and pretending to have dialed a wrong number, federal officials said in the release.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023
“Yeah, they probably got the wrong number or something. Thanks a lot, you hear. I appreciate it. Tell Alicia maybe some other time.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
