wrong number — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A telephone number dialled by mistake, for example, by transposing digits.

   Broader terms

   numberphone numbertelephone number

   Examples

   I am sorry. You have the wrong number. — Oh. Is this 555-8986? — No. This is 555-8689. — Oh. Excuse me! — Okay. Bye.

2. A telephone call received from an unfamiliar caller, due to a mistake in the number dialled.

   Usage

   • broadly

   Examples

   - Who was that on the phone? - It was just a wrong number.

3. An incorrect notion or understanding concerning a person or situation.

   Usage

   • Dated
   • idiomatic

   Synonyms

   misapprehensionmisinterpretationmisunderstanding

   Examples

   Codd said . . . when he had her fixed and tested her a few times he would take me up for a ride. "You got the wrong number," I says. "I don't feel flighty."

   More examples (2)

   The readers probably expecting me to go on about how Johnny was real nostalgic about some kind of material security. . . . Well, the readers got the wrong number.

   His musical system, like the political system he served, would rescue the present moment from crisis and place it at last in productive harmony with history's demands. Boy, did he have the wrong number.