mistake
verb
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\;
mistaken\ mə-ˈstā-kən
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mistaking
Definition of mistake
(Entry 1 of 2)
mistake
nounDefinition of mistake (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for mistake
Synonyms: Verb
misapprehend, misconstrue, misinterpret, misknow, misperceive, misread, miss, misunderstand
Synonyms: Noun
misapprehension, miscalculation, misjudging, misjudgment, misstep, slip, slipup
Antonyms: Verb
appreciate, apprehend, catch, comprehend, conceive, fathom, get, grasp, grok, know, make out, penetrate, perceive, savvy, see, seize, take in, understand
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Examples of mistake in a Sentence
Verb
the auctioneer mistook my nod for a bid, and I ended up buying a painting I don't even like you seriously mistake me if you think I scare so easilyNoun
It would be a mistake to assume that we can rely on their help. There must be some mistake. The manuscript contains numerous spelling mistakes. There's a mistake in the schedule. “When does the movie start?” “At 8:00. No, wait—my mistake—it starts at 8:30.”
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Marcus’ self-portrait is rendered in orange and green, while an enormous pink tongue, that could be mistaken for a tail, protrudes from his mouth. — Dallas News, "A Dallas art gallery examines identity in 'How It Looks To Be You In Egyptian Cotton'," 23 Aug. 2019 With glass interior walls, exposed plumbing and a staff of young researchers dressed like Urban Outfitters models, New York University’s AI Now Institute could easily be mistaken for the offices of any one of New York’s innumerable tech startups. — Alejandro De La Garza, Time, "Meet the Researchers Working to Make Sure Artificial Intelligence Is a Force for Good," 23 Aug. 2019 Stopped our show tonight due to a motorcycle backfire that was mistaken for a bomb or a shooting. — CBS News, "Motorcycle backfire stirs panic in NYC's Times Square as crowd mistakes sound for gunshot," 7 Aug. 2019 Matthews understands his perspective can be mistaken for indifference. — Eric Branch, SFChronicle.com, "49ers receiver Jordan Matthews at peace on roster bubble," 5 Aug. 2019 Waterstones faced criticism for opening some unbranded stores that could easily be mistaken for indie shop. — Sarah Todd, Quartz, "Barnes & Noble’s fate rests in the hands of a British indie bookstore owner," 21 July 2019 As a prose stylist, McCulley isn’t likely to be mistaken for the creator of a far more famous Lolita. — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, "Johnston McCulley dreamed up Zorro 100 years ago. The masked avenger is still a thrill.," 10 July 2019 The Pacific Gophersnake is the most common snake in Northern California and is often mistaken for a rattler. — Rebecca Jepsen, The Mercury News, "Love ’em or hate ’em, snakes are good for your garden," 12 June 2019 When power flows to the EmDrive, the copper cone heats up and expands, which shifts its center of gravity just enough to cause the torsion balance to register force that can be mistaken as thrust. — Daniel Oberhaus, WIRED, "A Mythical Form of Space Propulsion Finally Gets a Real Test," 5 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Nevertheless, the Jaguars were troubled by mistakes, including three turnovers — two of them red zone interceptions, and the other a fumble at the 1. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "South Alabama cranks up running game for 37-14 win over Jackson State," 8 Sep. 2019 But the errors didn’t inspire confidence — especially after Michigan’s season-opener against Middle Tennessee was riddled with mistakes, too. — Erick Smith, USA TODAY, "No. 7 Michigan survives upset bid from Army in overtime," 7 Sep. 2019 Questions continue to linger surrounding USC’s secondary, but aside from a few youthful mistakes, the unit was fine enough in its debut, holding a less-than-stellar Fresno State passer under 50%. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, "USC-Stanford: A look at how the teams match up," 6 Sep. 2019 But the boneheaded factor gives us pause: The likelihood that USC, not Stanford, will make a game-turning mistake (penalty, turnover) or that the USC sideline will keep Stanford in the game with a baffling decision. — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, "Picks of the week: Conference games, rivalry games, revenge games … Week Two should be riveting," 5 Sep. 2019 Two mistakes too many Louisville's margin for error in this game was always going to be tiny. — Gentry Estes, The Courier-Journal, "Instant Analysis: Lots for Louisville to like vs. Notre Dame — except the result," 2 Sep. 2019 Last year, in one of Fidesz’s occasional political mistakes, the government passed laws allowing companies to demand that employees work longer overtime to be paid for at a later date. — The Economist, "How Viktor Orban hollowed out Hungary’s democracy," 29 Aug. 2019 That, Syed’s current counsel argues, is a big mistake, especially since the state’s case hinged on the jury buying the timeline prosecutors presented. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "The US Supreme Court is faced with the podcast-popular case of Adnan Syed," 22 Aug. 2019 To see women as innocent wallflowers in need of protection could prove a deadly mistake when women were serving as smugglers, scouts, decoys, insurgents, and combatants; ignore them at your peril. — Brenda Wineapple, The New Republic, "Who wrote women out of Civil War history?," 16 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mistake.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.