Meaning & use
omission error
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Meanings
nouncountable
A mistake made by leaving out something that should have been included or done, rather than by doing something wrong.
Grammar: Countable: an omission error, several omission errors.
Patterns
- an omission error in something
- make an omission error
Forgetting to list a medication on the form was an omission error that could have caused harm.
The test counted every skipped step as an omission error.
An omission error occurred when the clerk left one address off the invoice.
nouncountablespecialist
In research and testing, a failure to respond to a target that was present, so that something that should have been detected is missed.
Grammar: Countable: the participant made three omission errors.
Patterns
- omission errors in a task
- rate of omission errors
Participants who were tired made more omission errors in the attention test.
The pilot study recorded omission errors whenever a target light was ignored.
A high rate of omission errors may point to problems with attention.
Word forms
| plural | omission errors |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an omission error
- Nurses can make an omission error when they are interrupted.
- avoid omission errors
- A checklist helps you avoid omission errors.
- omission error rate
- The omission error rate fell after training.
- commission or omission error
- The audit looked for any commission or omission error.
- serious omission error
- Leaving out the dose was a serious omission error.
Synonyms and how they differ
- oversight
- Oversight is more general and everyday, while omission error is a more technical term that names the type of mistake.
- lapse
- A lapse suggests a short failure of memory or attention, and does not imply that something was left out of a record.
- slip
- A slip is a small, minor mistake and sounds less serious than an omission error.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: omission error or commission error?
omission error vs commission error
A commission error means doing something wrong, while an omission error means failing to do or include something.
Practice
A pharmacist forgets to put a required warning label on a bottle. What kind of mistake is this?
Choose one answer.
Leaving out something that should have been there is an omission error. A commission error would be doing the wrong thing, such as adding the wrong label.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “omission error”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.