- bad behaviour (especially of children) that is annoying but does not cause any serious damage or harm
- Those children are always getting into mischief.
- I try to keep out of mischief.
- It's very quiet upstairs; they must be up to some mischief!
- Try to stay out of mischief, will you?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- criminal
- glint
- hint
- cause
- do
- make
- …
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- the wish or tendency to behave or play in a way that causes trouble
- Her eyes were full of mischief.
- There was a glint of mischief in her eyes.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- criminal
- glint
- hint
- cause
- do
- make
- …
- (formal) harm or injury that is done to somebody or to their reputation
- The incident caused a great deal of political mischief.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- criminal
- glint
- hint
- cause
- do
- make
- …
Word Originlate Middle English (denoting misfortune or distress): from Old French meschief, from the verb meschever, from mes- ‘adversely’ + chever ‘come to an end’ (from chef ‘head’).
Idioms
See mischief in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarydo yourself a mischief
- (British English, informal) to hurt yourself physically
- Watch how you use those scissors—you could do yourself a mischief!
make mischief
- to do or say something deliberately to upset other people, or cause trouble between them
- Such people will do anything they can to make mischief.
Check pronunciation:
mischief