mistake
Americannoun
-
mistakes
plural
-
an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.
- Synonyms:
- oversight, fault, erratum, inaccuracy
-
a misunderstanding or misconception.
- Antonyms:
- understanding
verb (used with object)
-
mistakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mistook,
past
-
mistaken,
past participle
-
mistaking
present participle
-
to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else.
I mistook him for the mayor.
-
to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.
- Synonyms:
- err, misjudge, misconceive
verb (used without object)
-
mistakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mistook,
past
-
mistaken,
past participle
-
mistaking
present participle
idioms
noun
-
an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment
-
a misconception or misunderstanding
verb
-
(tr) to misunderstand; misinterpret
she mistook his meaning
-
to take (for), interpret (as), or confuse (with)
she mistook his direct manner for honesty
-
(tr) to choose badly or incorrectly
he mistook his path
-
(intr) to make a mistake in action, opinion, judgment, etc
Commonly Confused
See misnomer.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mistakesimple
-
mistakessimple
-
have mistakenperfect
-
has mistakenperfect
-
am mistakingprogressive
-
are mistakingprogressive
-
is mistakingprogressive
-
have been mistakingperfect progressive
-
has been mistakingperfect progressive
Past
-
mistooksimple
-
had mistakenperfect
-
was mistakingprogressive
-
were mistakingprogressive
-
had been mistakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mistake
First recorded in 1300–30; Middle English mistaken (verb), from Old Norse mistaka “to take in error.” see origin at mis- 1, take
Explanation
A mistake is an error, a goof, a slip-up. When you make a mistake, you've done something incorrectly. Mistake has a lot of uses, but they all have to do with doing the wrong thing. A mistake in math class will result in the wrong answer, but a mistake with a gun could get someone killed. If you mix up two people, you're mistaking one for the other. When you make a mistake, the best thing to do is admit it and try to make up for it; not apologizing for a mistake is another mistake.
Vocabulary lists containing mistake
"The Experiment" and "Superstition"
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"Indian Summer Sun" and "Almost Evenly Divided"
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"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"
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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:
The supermarket said it had apologised to Arnold and claimed the mistake was "caused by human error", but critics have called for the technology to be scrapped.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Every diversified portfolio looked like a mistake next to the index.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
“He told me at the end of my freshman year, ‘You’re going to start and if you make a mistake, it’s OK.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Now she reminds herself not to make that mistake, too—and to always ask, “What’s beyond phone booths?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Caesar’s words are so soft, I almost mistake them for a breeze.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Senne Lammens was excellent in his debut campaign but has just two seasons as a first-choice senior goalkeeper behind him and his unhappy World Cup experience proved he can make major mistakes.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Known for its flame-grilled beef, Burger King has struggled for years with outdated restaurants and menu mistakes, like a hand-breaded chicken sandwich that was hard to make.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Rams rookie quarterback Ty Simpson puts in a solid debut and avoids making any major mistakes in a 20-12 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
In an interview with The Times earlier this month, Arday admitted making academic "mistakes" but said he was being wrongly "portrayed to be a liar and a fantasist".
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
In general, she noticed that Pel didn’t like making mistakes or being wrong.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Among the most heartbreaking finds were remains in a paper bag that police mistook for a baby bird.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
During a nighttime field survey, researchers initially mistook the animal for a mushroom, highlighting just how convincing its disguise is.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
At least 59 detainees were freed because the system mistook them for other people.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
The detective believes Levine saw the bags Palacios was carrying and mistook him for a homeless person.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
“When I was young, I mistook the sun for a fruit. Got in a lot of trouble for that,” he said, sounding more pleased with himself than guilt-ridden.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
The contents in the suitcase were "mistaken for a human originally, so they are very realistic in terms of looking like human remains," said Supt Linda Bradbury from the Hume Police District.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
This led to a deeper look into other factors contributing to wrongful convictions, including prosecutorial misconduct and mistaken eyewitness identifications, especially those made by witnesses with different racial backgrounds from the suspects.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
In a letter posted online, he said quitting was "the only way" to end a "difficult period", but insisted the decision should not be "mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me".
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
“They’re leaving consumers with the mistaken impression that the Lilly product is vastly superior to the Novo product,” said Kuckelman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s on the coast of Northern Ireland.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Over his four seasons as USC’s coach, there’s no mistaking what’s held Riley back from reaching the same heights at USC as he had at Oklahoma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
A premise that had sounded a bit ridiculous—a trout mistaking my cast for an alighting insect—had been proven real.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
This is an easy category error for anyone to make when talking about tourism, mistaking a country’s boundless beauty and hospitality toward visitors for anything else.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
A U.S. military investigation found that multiple human and systems errors had resulted in the strike team mistaking the building for a Taliban target.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
But there was no mistaking the shield of remoteness in his face and voice.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
