I. mə̇ˈstāk verb
( mis·took məˈstu̇k, (ˈ)mi|s- ; mis·tak·en mə̇ˈstākən ; mistaking ; mistakes )
Etymology: Middle English mistaken, from Old Norse mistaka to take by mistake, make a slip, from mis- mis- (I) + taka to take — more at take
transitive verb
1. : to choose wrongly : blunder in the choice of
ambition quite mistakes her road — Edward Young
mistook the track across the moors, and led the army into boggy ground — T.B.Macaulay
2.
a. : to take in a wrong sense : misunderstand the meaning or intention of
don't mistake me; I will do exactly as I say
had mistaken the meaning of her question — Carson McCullers
b. : to be wrong in the estimation or understanding of : misinterpret
mistook the class structure and ownership distribution of developed capitalism — Peter Wiles
c. : to make a wrong judgment of the character or ability of : underestimate
they mistake their man if they think they can frighten me
3.
a. : to fail to recognize or to identify wrongly
there's no mistaking him
there's no mistaking that house
b. : to substitute incorrectly in thought or perception : take wrongly for someone or something else
mistake gush for vigor and substitute rhetoric for imagination — C.D.Lewis
could be and often was mistaken for a farmer — H.S.Canby
4. : to be wrong in regard to (time)
somehow mistook the hour … I had told her nine o'clock, and she came at ten — Mary R. Rinehart
intransitive verb
: to be wrong : be under a misapprehension
you mistook when you thought I laughed at you — Thomas Hardy
if I mistake not … the entire import of the illustration changes — John Dewey
• mis·tak·er -kə(r) noun
II. noun
1. : a misunderstanding of the meaning or implication of something
it is a mistake to think that the supreme or legislative power of a commonwealth can do what it will — John Locke
it is a great mistake to think that the bare scientific idea is the required invention — A.N.Whitehead
2. : a wrong action or statement proceeding from faulty judgment, inadequate knowledge, or inattention : an unintentional error
it would be a mistake , however, to drain all bogs — Boy Scout Handbook
gave him a ten-dollar bill in mistake for a one
3. law : an erroneous belief : a state of mind not in accordance with the facts
Synonyms: see error
•
- and no mistake