/ mɪˈsteɪk; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
an action or an opinion that is not correct, or that produces a result that you did not want :
It's easy to make a mistake .
This letter is addressed to someone else—there must be some mistake.
It would be a mistake to ignore his opinion.
Don't worry, we all make mistakes .
You must try to learn from your mistakes .
Leaving school so young was the biggest mistake of my life.
I made the mistake of giving him my address.
It was a big mistake on my part to have trusted her.
a great / serious / terrible mistake
It's a common mistake (= one that a lot of people make).
2.
a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly
SYN error :
It's a common mistake among learners of English.
The waiter made a mistake (in) adding up the bill.
Her essay is full of spelling mistakes .
•
IDIOMS
- and no mistake
- by mistake
- make no mistake (about sth)
- in mistake for sth
■ verb
( mis·took / mɪˈstʊk; NAmE /, mis·taken / mɪˈsteɪkən; NAmE /) mistake sb/sth (as sb/sth) to not understand or judge sb/sth correctly
SYN misconstrue :
[ vn ]
I admit that I mistook his intentions.
I mistook her offer as a threat.
There was no mistaking (= it was impossible to mistake) the bitterness in her voice.
[also v wh- ]
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PHRASAL VERBS
- mistake sb/sth for sb/sth
••
SYNONYMS
mistake
error ♦ inaccuracy ♦ slip ♦ howler ♦ misprint ♦ typo
These are all words for a word, figure or fact that is not said, written down or typed correctly.
mistake
a word or figure that is not said or written down correctly:
It's a common mistake among learners of English.
•
spelling mistakes
error
( rather formal ) a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly:
There are too many errors in your work.
NOTE
Error is a more formal way of saying mistake .
inaccuracy
( rather formal ) a piece of information that is not exactly correct:
The article is full of inaccuracies.
slip
a small mistake, usually made by being careless or not paying attention
howler
( informal , especially BrE ) a stupid mistake, especially in what sb says or writes:
The report is full of howlers.
NOTE
A howler is usually an embarrassing mistake which shows that the person who made it does not know sth that they really should know.
misprint
a small mistake in a printed text
typo
( informal ) a small mistake in a typed or printed text.
NOTE
Typo is mostly used by people whose work involves checking printed material before it is made into a book, magazine, etc.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
a(n) mistake / error / inaccuracy / slip / howler / misprint / typo in sth
a common mistake / error / typo
a spelling / grammatical mistake / error
to make a(n) mistake / error / slip / howler / typo
to contain / be full of mistakes / errors / inaccuracies / howlers / misprints / typos
to correct the mistakes / errors / inaccuracies / misprints / typos
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (as a verb): from Old Norse mistaka take in error, probably influenced in sense by Old French mesprendre .