mistake
Americannoun
-
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)
-
to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else.
I mistook him for the mayor.
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to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.
- Synonyms:
- err, misjudge, misconceive
verb (used without object)
idioms
noun
-
an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment
-
a misconception or misunderstanding
verb
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(tr) to misunderstand; misinterpret
she mistook his meaning
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to take (for), interpret (as), or confuse (with)
she mistook his direct manner for honesty
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(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
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have mistakenperfect
-
has mistakenperfect 3rd person singular
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is mistakingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
am mistakingprogressive 1st person singular
-
are mistakingprogressive
-
have been mistakingperfect progressive
-
mistakingparticiple
-
mistakessingular 3rd person
-
has been mistakingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had mistakenperfect
-
had been mistakingperfect progressive
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were mistakingprogressive plural
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mistooksimple
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was mistakingprogressive singular
-
mistakenparticiple
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.
Wolff held his hand up and said it was "clearly our mistake".
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
They urged commissioners to not repeat the same mistake and to deny the project’s plan until they have more details on the data center’s impact on traffic, roads, public safety, the watershed, and noise.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
But above all, he told his students, train yourselves “never to mistake mediocrity, however brilliant, for true greatness.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Shin’s instincts could push him toward the Bank of Japan’s 1989 mistake: treating a market boom as a nail for the rate-hike hammer.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
I couldn’t help wondering if it was a mistake somehow, if Luc had misspoken.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
