(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
An ~ is something you have done which is considered to be incorrect or wrong, or which should not have been done.
NASA discovered a mathematical ~ in its calculations...
MPs attacked lax management and ~s of judgment.
N-VAR: oft N prep
2.
If you do something in ~ or if it happens in ~, you do it or it happens because you have made a mistake, especially in your judgment.
The plane was shot down in ~ by a NATO missile.
PHRASE: usu PHR after v
3.
If someone sees the ~ of their ways, they realize or admit that they have made a mistake or behaved badly.
I wanted an opportunity to talk some sense into him and try to make him see the ~ of his ways.
PHRASE: PHR after v