Meaning & use
mistake
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something you do, say or decide that is wrong, usually without meaning to.
Grammar: Countable: make a mistake, not 'do a mistake'.
Patterns
- make a mistake
- a mistake in something
- by mistake
I made a mistake in the last line of my essay.
It was a mistake to trust him.
She took your umbrella by mistake.
verbtransitive
To wrongly think that one person or thing is another, or to misunderstand something.
Grammar: Often mistake A for B: I mistook her for her sister.
Patterns
- mistake someone for someone
- mistake something for something
I mistook the salt for sugar.
Visitors often mistake him for the manager.
Don't mistake kindness for weakness.
Word forms
| plural | mistakes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | mistakes |
| past tense | mistook |
| past participle | mistaken |
| -ing form | mistaking |
Common combinations
- make a mistake
- Everyone makes a mistake sometimes.
- costly mistake
- Leaving the gate open was a costly mistake.
- by mistake
- I sent the email to you by mistake.
- learn from your mistakes
- She learned from her mistakes.
- honest mistake
- It was an honest mistake.
- mistake for
- He mistook the fog for smoke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- error
- Error is more formal and common in technical or official contexts.
- blunder
- Blunder is a clumsy, often embarrassing mistake.
- slip
- Slip is a small, careless mistake.
- oversight
- Oversight is something you failed to notice or do.
Opposites
Word family
- mistaken adjective
- wrong in belief or judgment
- mistakenly adverb
- by error
- unmistakable adjective
- impossible to confuse with anything else
Commonly confused: mistake or mischief? mistake or fault?
mistake vs mischief
Mischief is playful misbehavior, not an error.
mistake vs fault
A fault is who or what is to blame, while a mistake is the wrong act itself.
Practice
I'm sorry, I ___ you for your brother. You look so alike.
Choose one answer.
The past tense of the verb mistake is mistook. Mistaken is the participle and needs have or be.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mistake”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.