noun

mistake

mih-STAYK

noun

An action, decision, or belief that is wrong or incorrect.

"Forgetting her birthday was a huge mistake."

"It's okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them."

verb

To misunderstand or wrongly identify someone or something.

"I mistook him for his brother."

"She mistook kindness for weakness."

How to Use Mistake

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishAn error, or the act of wrongly identifying or misjudging something.

Common pairings

make a mistake by mistake mistake one thing for another

mistook past tense, mistaken past tense, mistakes plural, mistakes singular

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Forgetting her birthday was a huge _____.

From Old Norse mistaka, "to take in error," from mis- ("wrongly") plus taka ("to take").

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