Mistake definition
Mistake someone's motives.
Mistook my politeness for friendliness.
An example of mistake is adding 25 and 32 and getting 51.
An example of mistake is for a person to think he sees his brother, when it is actually a stranger.
Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.
He mistook her for her sister.
To mistake one twin for the other.
- certainly
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of mistake
- From Middle English mistaken to misunderstand from Old Norse mistaka to take in error mis- wrongly mei-1 in Indo-European roots taka to take
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English, from Old Norse mistaka (“to take in error, to miscarry")
From Wiktionary