Definitions for mistake
mɪˈsteɪkmis·take

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. mistake, error, faultnoun

   a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

   "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"

2. mistake, misunderstanding, misapprehensionnoun

   an understanding of something that is not correct

   "he wasn't going to admit his mistake"; "make no mistake about his intentions"; "there must be some misunderstanding--I don't have a sister"

3. error, mistakeverb

   part of a statement that is not correct

   "the book was full of errors"

4. mistake, misidentifyverb

   identify incorrectly

   "Don't mistake her for her twin sister"

5. err, mistake, slipverb

   to make a mistake or be incorrect

Wiktionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. mistakenoun

   An error; a blunder.

2. mistakenoun

   A pitch which was intended to be pitched in a hard to hit location, but instead ends up in an easy to hit place

3. mistakeverb

   To understand wrongly, taking one thing for another, or someone for someone else.

   Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.

4. mistakeverb

   To make an error, to do something in a wrong way.

5. Etymology: from mistaka

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Mistakenoun

   Misconception; error.

   Etymology: from the verb.

   He never shall find out fit mate; but such
   As some misfortune brings him, or mistake. John Milton.

   Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake in what it believes. John Tillotson.

   Those terrors are not to be charged upon religion, which proceed either from the want of religion, or superstitious mistakes about it. Richard Bentley, Sermons.

2. To Mistakeverb

   To conceive wrong; to take something for that which it is not.

   Etymology: mis and take.

   The towns, neither of the one side nor the other, willingly opening their gates to strangers, nor strangers willingly entering for fear of being mistaken. Philip Sidney.

   These did truly apprehend a great affinity between their practice of invocation of saints and the heathen idolatry, or else there was no danger one should be mistaken for the other. Edward Stillingfleet.

   This if neglected will make the reader very much mistake, and misunderstand his meaning, and render the sense very perplexed. John Locke.

   Fancy passes for knowledge, and what is prettily said is mistaken for solid. John Locke.

   Fools into the notion fall,
   That vice or virtue there is none at all:
   Ask your own heart, and nothing is so plain,
   ’Tis to mistake them costs the time and pain. Alexander Pope.

3. To Mistakeverb

   To err; not to judge right.

   Seeing God found folly in his angels; mens judgments, which inhabit these houses of clay, cannot be without their mistakings. Walter Raleigh, Hist. of the World.

   Seldom any one mistakes in his names of simple ideas, or applies the name red to the idea green. John Locke.

   Servants mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstanding, among friends. Jonathan Swift.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Mistakeverb

   to make or form amiss; to spoil in making

2. Mistakeverb

   to take or choose wrongly

3. Mistakeverb

   to take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand misapprehend, or misconceive; as, to mistake a remark; to mistake one's meaning

4. Mistakeverb

   to substitute in thought or perception; as, to mistake one person for another

5. Mistakeverb

   to have a wrong idea of in respect of character, qualities, etc.; to misjudge

6. Mistakeverb

   to err in knowledge, perception, opinion, or judgment; to commit an unintentional error

7. Mistakenoun

   an apprehending wrongly; a misconception; a misunderstanding; a fault in opinion or judgment; an unintentional error of conduct

8. Mistakenoun

   misconception, error, which when non-negligent may be ground for rescinding a contract, or for refusing to perform it

9. Etymology: [Pref. mis- + take: cf. Icel. mistaka.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Mistake

   "Mistake" is a pop rock song by Stephanie McIntosh. It was released as the first single from her debut album Tightrope on 29 July 2006. "Mistake" was written by Tom Nichols and Rami Yacoub and Arnthor Birgisson and produced by the team at Maratone and Mixed by Niklas Flycht. The original title for "Mistake" was "Another Mistake". "Mistake" was released as the debut single from Tightrope in the UK and Ireland, where it was released on 25 June 2007 with McIntosh promoting the album there in June 2007. In its first week on the chart, "Mistake" entered the UK Singles Chart at #168, on downloads alone. Then after its physical release, it jumped 121 places to #47. It is her strongest single in and outside of Australia to date, although it didn't reach the top 40 anywhere outside Australia. "Mistake" is featured on the Australian version of the Bratz: Motion Picture Soundtrack. "Mistake" was also briefly used in two scenes in the Australian comedy show Summer Heights High.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Mistake

   mis-tāk′, v.t. to understand wrongly: to take one thing or person for another.—v.i. to err in opinion or judgment.—n. a taking or understanding wrongly: an error.—adjs. Mistak′able; Mistak′en, understood wrongly: guilty of a mistake: erroneous: incorrect.—adv. Mistak′enly.—n. Mistak′ing (Shak.), a mistake.—And no mistake (coll.), without any manner of doubt: without fail; Be mistaken, to make or have made a mistake: to be misunderstood. [M. E. mistaken—Ice. mistaka, to take wrongly—mis-, wrongly, taka, to take.]

Matched Categories

1. • Misconception
   • Nonaccomplishment

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mistake' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2849

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mistake' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2026

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mistake' in Nouns Frequency: #879

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'mistake' in Verbs Frequency: #1031

How to pronounce mistake?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say mistake in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of mistake in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of mistake in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of mistake in a Sentence

1. Allen Coon:

   We are forever tied to the horrors of our past, we've flown this symbol of oppression. We've defended it. We fought for it, and it's time to recognize that that was a mistake.

2. Beau Biden:

   We can and must do more to address the harms that come from hazardous exposures, which have gone unaddressed for far too long, we learned a horrible lesson after Vietnam, when the harmful effects of exposure to Agent Orange sometimes took years to manifest, and too many veterans were left unable to access the care they needed. I refuse to repeat that mistake when it comes to the veterans of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc:

   There must be no mistake that allows the disease to return to the country.

4. Kristen Waggoner:

   Make no mistake, this bill will be used by officials and activists to punish and ruin those who do not share the government’s view on marriage.

5. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron:

   Make no mistake, if Labour and the SNP get into power, you are going to see an alliance between a party that wants to spend, borrow and tax more, with a party that wants to spend, borrow and tax even more, it might be a match made in heaven for them, but it is a match made in hell for the British economy.

Popularity rank by frequency of use