mistake

[mi-steyk]

noun

1. an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.

   Synonyms: oversight, fault, erratum, inaccuracy

2. a misunderstanding or misconception.

   Antonyms: understanding

verb (used with object)

mistook, mistaken, mistaking. 

1. to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else.

   I mistook him for the mayor.

2. to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.

   Synonyms: err, misjudge, misconceive

verb (used without object)

mistook, mistaken, mistaking. 

1. to be in error.

mistake

/ mɪˈsteɪk /

noun

1. an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment

2. a misconception or misunderstanding

verb

1. (tr) to misunderstand; misinterpret

   she mistook his meaning

2. to take (for), interpret (as), or confuse (with)

   she mistook his direct manner for honesty

3. (tr) to choose badly or incorrectly

   he mistook his path

4. (intr) to make a mistake in action, opinion, judgment, etc

Confusables Note

See misnomer.

Other Word Forms

• mistaker noun
• mistakingly adverb
• unmistaking adjective
• unmistakingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mistake¹

First recorded in 1300–30; Middle English mistaken (verb), from Old Norse mistaka “to take in error.” mis- ¹, take

Word History and Origins

Origin of mistake¹

C13 (meaning: to do wrong, err): from Old Norse mistaka to take erroneously

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. and no mistake, for certain; surely.

   He's an honorable person, and no mistake.

More idioms and phrases containing mistake

• by mistake
• make no mistake

Synonym Study

Mistake, blunder, error, slip refer to deviations from right, accuracy, correctness, or truth. A mistake, grave or trivial, is caused by bad judgment or a disregard of rule or principle: It was a mistake to argue. A blunder is a careless, stupid, or gross mistake in action or speech, suggesting awkwardness, heedlessness, or ignorance: Through his blunder the message was lost. An error (often interchanged with mistake ) is an unintentional wandering or deviation from accuracy, or right conduct: an error in addition. A slip is usually a minor mistake made through haste or carelessness: a slip of the tongue.

Example Sentences

Over the long term FactSet has been a “great company,” he said, but he added that it had been a mistake to continue to hold FactSet, and he has sold out of the position.

Read more on MarketWatch

But its mistakes began when they started to yearn for a role in pop culture, a space their existing audience doesn’t understand and often actively hates.

Read more on Salon

"You can't correct one mistake with another," one activist living in central Gaza Strip added.

Read more on BBC

“And any time you can get guys on base, it just amplifies that and they’re more liable to make mistakes.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake," said Melikyan.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• aberration 
• blunder 
• confusion 
• fault 
• gaffe 
• inaccuracy 
• lapse 
• miscalculation www.thesaurus.com
• misconception 
• misstep 
• omission 
• oversight 
• snafu