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Synonyms

by mistake

Idioms  
  1. Erroneously, as in He took my coat by mistake. [c. 1700]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Well, dear reader, I took a break, too—from What’s News—to write about great innovations that were discovered by mistake.

From The Wall Street Journal May 6, 2026

"No one remained imprisoned by mistake: the people were released," said Morando.

From Barron's Mar. 17, 2026

When these files were released, a number of things seemed to have been released by mistake.

From Slate Feb. 4, 2026

For more than an hour, Trump repeatedly called Greenland Iceland by mistake, while demanding it be turned over to him.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 21, 2026

I’d have to tell her some girl friend at school bought them by mistake and wanted to sell them cheap or something like that.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel

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