- past tense form of mistake.
mistook
Americanverb
verb
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.
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
A cancer patient had the wrong part of their bowel removed during an operation after a surgeon mistook a tattoo for the site of a tumour, a report has said.
From BBC ● May 24, 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
Mouse mistook my toe for a mole crab, and I used the excuse to duck away and off down the beach to sit by myself for a while.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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.
