| Compound Forms: |
WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:
| back the wrong horse v expr | figurative (be mistaken in judgment) (figurado) | apostar por el caballo perdedor expr |
| | | equivocarse⇒ v prnl |
| | (coloquial) | pifiarle v prnl |
| bark up the wrong tree v expr | figurative, informal (follow a mistaken idea) (coloquial) | mear fuera del tiesto, mear fuera del tarro expr |
| | | estar equivocado loc verb |
| Note: Often used in continuous tenses. |
| | The boss thinks Sharon stole the money but he's barking up the wrong tree--she wasn't even in the office that day. |
| be barking up the wrong tree v expr | figurative, informal (be mistaken) (figurado) | apuntar fuera del tiesto expr |
| | (AR, figurado) | mear fuera del tarro expr |
| do no wrong v expr | (make no mistakes) | no equivocarse loc verb |
| | He believed that the Red Sox could do no wrong and they would win the series. |
| | | no cometer errores loc verb |
| do no wrong v expr | (do nothing improper) | no hacer nada inadecuado loc verb |
| | He was convinced that his daughter could do no wrong. |
| | Estaba convencido de que su hija no podía hacer nada inadecuado. |
| | | no hacer nada impropio loc verb |
| | | no hacer nada inapropiado loc verb |
| | Estaba convencido de que su hija no podía hacer nada impropio. |
| do wrong vtr + n | (commit a crime) (formal) | delinquir⇒ vi |
| | | cometer un delito loc verb |
| do wrong vtr + n | (commit a sin) | pecar⇒ vi |
| | | cometer un pecado loc verb |
| do [sb] wrong vtr + n | informal (betray, harm) | ser desleal loc verb |
| | Frankie and Johnny were lovers, but he was doing her wrong with Nellie Bly. |
| | Frankie y Johnny eran amantes, pero él le era desleal con Nellie Bly. |
| | | engañar⇒ vtr |
| | Frankie y Johnny eran amantes, pero él la engañaba con Nellie Bly. |
| | | traicionar⇒ vtr |
| | Frankie y Johnny eran amantes, pero él la traicionaba con Nellie Bly. |
| get off on the wrong foot v expr | figurative (have a bad start) | empezar con el pie izquierdo loc verb |
| | | empezar con mal pie loc verb |
get out of bed on the wrong side,
get up on the wrong side of the bed v expr | figurative, informal (be irritable) | levantarse con el pie izquierdo expr |
| | | estar irritable loc verb |
| get [sth] wrong vtr + adj | (be mistaken about [sth]) | equivocarse⇒ v prnl |
| | If you actually read the instructions, you'll be less likely to get it wrong. |
| | Si lees las instrucciones hay menos chances de que te equivoques. |
| go down the wrong way v expr | (swallowing: windpipe instead) | irse por mal camino loc verb |
| go the wrong way v expr | (move in incorrect direction) | ir en sentido contrario vi + loc adv |
| | | ir en la dirección equivocada vi + loc adv |
| | (CO, EC, HN; tráfico) | ir en contravía vi + loc adv |
| go wrong v expr | (person: fail) | equivocarse⇒ v prnl |
| | If you follow the instructions, you can't go wrong. |
| | Si sigues las instrucciones, no puedes equivocarte. |
| go wrong v expr | (project, attempt, etc: fail) | salir mal loc verb |
| | My attempt to apologise to Ruby went wrong when I accidentally trod on her foot. |
| | Mi intento de disculparme con Ruby salió mal cuando por accidente le pisé el pie. |
| go wrong v expr | (appliance, device: stop working properly) | andar mal vi + adv |
| | | funcionar mal vi + adv |
| | My computer's gone wrong; the screen is completely blue. |
| | Mi computadora anda mal, la pantalla está completamente azul. |
| be in the wrong v expr | (mistaken) | estar equivocado loc verb |
| | Jack admitted that he had been in the wrong about Arthur and apologized for not trusting him. |
| | Jack admitió que había estado equivocado sobre Arthur y se disculpó por no confiar en él. |
| be in the wrong v expr | (to blame) | ser culpable loc verb |
| | Louise was in the wrong when she took Eric's car without his permission. |
| | Louise fue culpable de llevarse el coche de su amigo Eric sin su permiso. |
| prove [sb] wrong vtr + adj | (show that [sb] is incorrect) | demostrar lo contrario loc verb |
| | | demostrar que no es verdad loc verb |
| | My father said I would never be an athlete; I'm determined to prove him wrong. |
| | Mi padre dijo que nunca podría ser atleta y estoy determinado a demostrar lo contrario. |
| right and wrong npl | (sense of morality) | el bien y el mal expr |
| | | lo bueno y lo malo loc nom m |
| | We have to know the difference between right and wrong. |
| | Debemos conocer la diferencia entre el bien y el mal. |
rub [sb] the wrong way,
rub [sb] up the wrong way v expr | figurative, informal (irritate) | hacer enojar a loc verb + prep |
| | | molestar a, irritar a, enfadar a vtr + prep |
| | | caerle mal a loc verb + prep |
| | My colleague's habit of whistling as he works rubs me up the wrong way. |
| sense of right and wrong n | (morality) | sentido del bien y del mal nm + loc adj |
| | At around the age of four, children start to demonstrate a sense of right and wrong. |
| | Alrededor de los cuatro años los chicos empiezan a mostrar un sentido del bien y del mal. |
| | | sentido moral nm + adj |
| | Alrededor de los cuatro años los chicos empiezan a mostrar un sentido moral. |
| | | conciencia de lo bueno y lo malo, conciencia del bien y el mal nf + loc adj |
| | Alrededor de los cuatro años los chicos empiezan a mostrar una conciencia de lo bueno y lo malo. |
| sing a wrong note v expr | (sing off key) | desafinar⇒ vi |
| | | calar una nota loc verb |
| | | cantar fuera de tono loc verb |
| | (AR, coloquial) | pifiar una nota loc verb |
| take [sth] the wrong way v expr | (misunderstand, be upset by: a remark) | malinterpretar algo vtr |
| | (ofenderse) | tomarse algo a mal loc verb |
| tell right from wrong v expr | (have a sense of morality) | tener conciencia del bien y del mal loc verb |
| the wrong way expr | (incorrect position or direction) (hacer algo) | de manera incorrecta, de forma equivocada loc adv |
| | (ir, conducir...) | en sentido contrario loc adv |
the wrong way around,
also,
UK: the wrong way round expr | (positioned, held: incorrectly) | al revés loc adv |
| | That's the wrong way around; this bit is meant to go at the front. |
the wrong way around,
also,
UK: the wrong way round expr | figurative (opposite of what is correct) | al revés loc adv |
| | No, you've got it the wrong way round. Susan didn't cheat on Karl; he cheated on her. |
| What's wrong? expr | informal (What is the matter?) | ¿Qué pasa? loc interj |
| | | ¿Qué tienes? loc interj |
| | What's wrong? You look as though you've been crying. |
| wrong answer n | (incorrect response) | respuesta equivocada nf + adj |
| | | contestación incorrecta nf + adj |
| | | respuesta incorrecta nf + adj |
| the wrong end of the stick expr | (mistaken idea) | es un malentendido expr |
| | I'm not having an affair with your wife! I was just comforting her because she was upset; you've got hold of the wrong end of the stick. |
wrong end to,
wrong-end-to adv | US (backwards) | al revés loc adv |
| | The flashlight didn't work because he had put in the battery wrong end to. |
| | La linterna no funcionaba porque había puesto las pilas al revés. |
| wrong impression n | (false idea) | impresión equivocada, impresión errónea nf + adj |
| | I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression. |
| | Espero no haberte dado una impresión equivocada (or: impresión errónea). |
| | | falsa impresión adj + nf |
| | Espero no haberte dado una falsa impresión. |
| wrong move n | informal (error) (figurado) | mala jugada loc nom f |
| | | error nm |
| | Telling me to follow his advice was definitely a wrong move. |
| | I realize now that buying that new car was a wrong move. |
| | Decirme que siguiera su consejo fue definitivamente una mala jugada. // Ahora me doy cuenta de que comprar ese auto nuevo fue una mala jugada. |
| wrong number n | (telephone: call to wrong person) | número equivocado nm + adj |
| wrong number n | ([sb] reached through mistaken call) | número equivocado nm + adj |
wrong side,
wrong side of [sth] n | (incorrect side) | lado equivocado de nm + adj + prep |
| | | lado incorrecto de nm + adj + prep |
| | The old man was driving on the wrong side of the road. |
| | El anciano estaba conduciendo por el lado equivocado de la carretera. |
| the wrong side of the tracks expr | (poor section of city) | lado equivocado nm + adj |
| | | lado malo nm + adj |
| wrong time n | (inopportune moment) | mal momento adj + nm |
| | The job offer simply came at the wrong time. |
| | I get paid on the first of the month, so the end of the month is the wrong time to ask me for a loan. |
| | La oferta de trabajo simplemente llegó en mal momento. |
| wrong time n | (not appointed time) | hora equivocada nf + adj |
| | She showed up for her interview on the right day, but at the wrong time. |
| | Se presentó a la entrevista el día correcto, pero a la hora equivocada. |
| the wrong way expr | (incorrectly) (hacer algo) | de manera incorrecta, de forma equivocada loc adv |
| | (ir, conducir...) | en sentido contrario loc adv |
| wrong-foot [sb]⇒ vtr | (make [sb] lose balance) | hacer tropezar a loc verb |
| | The tennis player hit a shot across the court that wrong-footed his opponent. |
| wrong-foot [sb] vtr | figurative (make [sb] appear wrong) | hacer parecer equivocado a loc verb |
| | The author wrong-footed critics when his book became a surprise bestseller. |
wrongheaded (US),
wrong-headed (UK) adj | (person: misguided) | equivocado y terco loc adj |
| | | que persiste en un error loc adj |
| | | obstinado en el error loc adj |
| | | descaminado y obstinado loc adj |
wrongheaded (US),
wrong-headed (UK) adj | (policy, idea: ill conceived) | erróneo/a adj |
| | | mal concebido loc adj |
| | | equivocado/a adj |
