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)

, mis·took [mi-, stook], mis·tak·en [mi-, stey, -k, uh, n], mis·tak·ing.

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)

, mis·took [mi-, stook], mis·tak·en [mi-, stey, -k, uh, n], mis·tak·ing.

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. trfoll byfor 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.

Derived Forms

• misˈtaker, noun

Other Words From

• mis·taker noun
• mis·taking·ly adverb
• unmis·taking adjective
• unmis·taking·ly 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

In addition to the idiom beginning with mistake , also see 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

You’ve got to have the ability to block out past mistakes, or even the future.

From Washington Post

What’s more, not every speaker may be fluent, meaning that a child hearing more languages might also hear mistakes.

From Popular-Science

She tried following the instructions but made so many mistakes that “it made my whole screen just look red,” she said.

From Washington Post

UNC-Miami postponed after two Tar Heels are shown celebrating Duke win without masks“Every little mistake we made, they just took advantage of it,” Wiggins said, referencing Ohio State’s 21 points off turnovers.

From Washington Post

On Sunday, she updated her accounts to show that she had started the process of trying to remove what is presumably one of the worst mistakes of her life.

From Washington Post

This time it would be the biggest mistake for the Western press to repeat that—absolutely the biggest mistake.

From The Daily Beast

Scalise has called the talk, which he delivered in a hotel outside New Orleans, “a mistake I regret.”

From The Daily Beast

Scalise offered his contrition that he had made a mistake and apologized for appearing before a group some 12 years ago.

From The Daily Beast

Make no mistake: The technology exists—has existed for a long while—to stop this from happening.

From The Daily Beast

I made the mistake of promising one group of guys they could ask me anything if they answered my questions.

From The Daily Beast

Instead of giving you a chance to say, "He has made a mistake," he forced you to say, "He has shown how to get out of a mistake."

From Project Gutenberg

My mother now tells me that she knew of this mistake, an error of the New York paper in copying the item from a Southern journal.

From Project Gutenberg

I must make no mistake, and blunder into a national type of features, all wrong; if I make your mask, it must do us credit.

From Project Gutenberg

They never knew how it got there, but thinking it was by mistake, Glavis took it into the house and spread it out.

From Project Gutenberg

"Yes, there has been a mistake," she said peevishly, turning in with him to a small room they used as a breakfast-room.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• confuse
• miscalculate
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misjudge
• misread
• overestimate
• overlook
• underestimate