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

"The second goal was a mistake of mine, I take responsibility for that," he said.

Read more on BBC

Better to realize this now, rather than discover after great effort and expense that you have made a mistake.

Read more on MarketWatch

Symptoms of autoimmune disease are often mistaken for normal signs of aging, leaving the disorder undiagnosed for years.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He has been publicly trolling the board and Chief Executive Calvin McDonald, likening their mistakes to a plane crash.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"When the engine's manual -- the mtDNA -- gets damaged, it's not always by a spelling mistake, a mutation," Chen said.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

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