mistake
[ mi-steyk ]
/ mɪˈsteɪk /
noun
an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc.
a misunderstanding or misconception.
verb (used with object), mis·took, mis·tak·en, mis·tak·ing.
to regard or identify wrongly as something or someone else: I mistook him for the mayor.
to understand, interpret, or evaluate wrongly; misunderstand; misinterpret.
verb (used without object), mis·took, mis·tak·en, mis·tak·ing.
to be in error.
Idioms for mistake
and no mistake,
for certain; surely: He's an honorable person, and no mistake.
Origin of mistake
SYNONYMS FOR mistake
1
inaccuracy,
erratum,
fault,
oversight.
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.
4 misconceive, misjudge, err.
words often confused with mistake
See
misnomer.
OTHER WORDS FROM mistake
mis·tak·er, noun mis·tak·ing·ly, adverb un·mis·tak·ing, adjective un·mis·tak·ing·ly, adverbWords nearby mistake
Example sentences from the Web for mistake
British Dictionary definitions for mistake
mistake
/ (mɪˈsteɪk) /
noun
an error or blunder in action, opinion, or judgment
a misconception or misunderstanding
verb -takes, -taking, -took or -taken
(tr)
to misunderstand; misinterpret
she mistook his meaning
(tr foll by for)
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
Derived forms of mistake
mistaker, nounWord Origin for mistake
C13 (meaning: to do wrong, err): from Old Norse
mistaka to take erroneously
Idioms and Phrases with mistake
mistake