mistake Hear it!

mistake definition

mis·take (mi stāk′)

transitive verb mistook -·took′, mistaken -·tak′en or Obsoletemistook -·took′, mistaking -·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

Related Forms:

mistake Idioms

and no mistake

Informal certainly

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms mistake idiom

law mistake definition - legal

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

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.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

mistake Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • make: Make no mistake, the Romans were very good at putting people to death.

Adjective modifier

  • costly: All in all an extremely useful session that has enabled me to avoid making costly mistakes!

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?

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 ).
mistake usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

mistake quotes

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

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

-Buck, Pearl ne¤  e Sydenstricker

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

mistake quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"mistake." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/mistake>

APA Style

mistake. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/mistake

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