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mistake Definition

mis·take (mi stāk′)

transitive verb -·took′, -·tak′en or Obsolete-·took′, -·tak′·ing

  1. to understand or perceive wrongly; interpret or judge incorrectly mistake someone's motives
  2. to take (someone or something) to be another; recognize or identify incorrectly to mistake one twin for the other

Etymology: ME mistaken < ON mistaka, to take wrongly: see mis- & take

intransitive verb

to make a mistake

noun

  1. a fault in understanding, perception, interpretation, etc.
  2. an idea, answer, act, etc. that is wrong; error

mistake Related Forms
mis·tak′·able adjective mis·tak′·ably adverb
mistake Idioms

and no mistake

Informal certainly

mistake Synonyms

mistake

n.

  1. A blunder

    error, false step, blunder, slip; see error 1.

  2. A misunderstanding

    misapprehension, confusion, misconception, misconstruction, delusion, illusion, overestimation, underestimation, impression, aberration, muddle, bemuddling, confounding, disregarding, misinterpretation, misapplication, misdoubt, misstatement, perversion, perplexity, bewilderment, misjudgment; see also exaggeration 1, misunderstanding 1.

    Antonyms knowledge*, certainty, interpretation. See syn. study at error.error.

mistake Synonyms

mistake

v.

err, blunder, slip, lapse, miss, overlook, omit, underestimate, overestimate, fail to know, fail to recognize, substitute, misjudge, misapprehend, misconceive, misunderstand, confound, misinterpret, misconstrue, confuse, botch, bungle, be at cross purposes, have the wrong impression, tangle, snarl, slip up, mix, make a mess of*, come a cropper*, miss the boat*, slip a cog*, put one's foot in one's mouth*.

Antonyms succeed*, be accurate, explain.

mistake Law Definition

n

In contract law, a factual misunderstanding that may lead to a failure of a meeting of the minds.
mistake of fact
Improper understanding of a fact that is material to a contract.
mistake of law
Improper understanding of the law as applied to facts as to which a party has a correct and full understanding.
mutual mistake
A mistake in which each party has an incorrect understanding of the other’s position, or in which both parties share the same mistaken belief, generally a basis for canceling the contract.
unilateral mistake
A mistake by only one party to a contract as to the underlying facts of the agreement, not generally a basis for avoiding the contract.
mistake Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • make: Make no mistake, the Romans were very good at putting people to death.
  • correct: In some cases they correct mistakes in the older versions.
  • repeat: A new round should not repeat the mistakes of the past.
  • spell: Make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
  • avoid: The video will help you to avoid the mistakes of others.
  • rectify: Thankfully there is still time to rectify these mistakes.

Adjective modifier

  • costly: All in all an extremely useful session that has enabled me to avoid making costly mistakes!
  • fatal: Playing the odds was a fatal mistake: the coin came down heads.
  • terrible: During my first few hours in this mental health placement, I started to think I had made a terrible mistake by going there.
  • silly: Silly mistakes were made by Newark MP Mrs Fiona Jones in her election return, the Crown Court was told on Monday.
  • stupid: Which was a stupid mistake which there is no going back from.
  • common: A common mistake is to type ` = ' instead of ` == ' .

Preposition: on

  • lap: He seized the opportunity to move into fifth place when James Haydon made a mistake on lap three.

Noun used with modifier

  • spelling: Are there any spelling mistakes or other textual errors?
  • grammar: Grammar conventions The students, in groups, watch the recorded conversation and take notes on possible grammar mistakes in it and make corrections.
  • punctuation: In all work importance is attached to clear, well structured work with a minimum of spelling, grammatical or punctuation mistakes.
  • category: To conflate the two is to commit a category mistake ( Ryle, 1949 ).

Preposition: of

  • past: A new round should not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Preposition: with

  • conversion: Whitehead made no mistake with the simple conversion that cut the deficit by seven points ( 17-10 ).

Preposition: for

  • seizure: For example, some people with learning disabilities may behave unusually or have movement disorders that could be mistaken for epileptic seizures.
mistake Quotes

   Among all forms of mistake, prophecy is the most gratuitous.

—Eliot, George pseudonym of  MaryAnn Evans

Anything you make a mistake about, I will get you out of, and anything you do well I will take the credit for.

—Bevin, Ernest

   Cambodiawasnot a mistake; it was a crime.The world is diminished by the experience.

—Shawcross,William

Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.

—Buck, Pearl ne¤  e Sydenstricker

How would you like a job where, every time you make a mistake, a big red light goes on and18,000 people boo?

—Plante,Jacques

Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life. If you haven't had that what have you had?

—James, Henry

Without music, life would be a mistake.

—Nietzsche, FriedrichWilhelm

  Whenever I think, I make a mistake.

—Stevens, Roger Lacey

In unexperienc'd Infancy Many a sweet mistake doth lie.

—Traherne,Thomas

It is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery.

—Doyle, SirArthur Conan

It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has all the evidence. It biases the judgement.

—Doyle, SirArthur Conan

Murder is always a mistake† One should never do anything that one cannot talk about after dinner.

—Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'FlahertieWills

We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. 797

—Smiles, Samuel

   I never made a mistake in grammar but once in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.

—Sandburg, Carl

There are so many kinds of awful menö One can't avoid them all. She often said She'd never make the same mistake again: She always made a new mistake instead.

—Cope,Wendy

There is no mistake; there has been no mistake, and there shall be no mistake.

—Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of

   I mean, you lieöunder a mistake.

—Swift,Jonathan

Worst damnfool mistake I ever made was letting myself be elected Vice-President of the United States. Should have stuck†as Speaker of the House† Gave up the second most important job in Government foreight long years as Roosevelt's spare tire.

—Garner,John Nance

The worst mistake I made was that stupid, suburban prejudice of anti-Semitism.

—Pound, Ezra Loomis

Browse dictionary entries near mistake

  1. ‹ mist
  2. ‹ missy
  3. ‹ missus
  4. ‹ misstep
  5. ‹ misstatement
  6. ‹ misstate
  7. ‹ misspent
  8. ‹ misspend
  9. ‹ misspelling
  10. ‹ misspell
  1. mistaken ›
  2. mistakenly ›
  3. Mistassini ›
  4. mister ›
  5. misterioso ›
  6. misterm ›
  7. mistflower ›
  8. misthink ›
  9. Misti ›
  10. mistime ›