- 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.
He said afterward that he mistook the plastic fork for a weapon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 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
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
In July 1988, the USS Vincennes mistook an Iran Air commercial plane for a fighter and shot it down soon after takeoff from Dubai, killing 290 civilians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Rabia was four years old and Safa was three, but with their matching black curls and dimples, people often mistook them for twins.
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
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.
