MISTAKE (mistaken, mistook)
Dictionary entry overview: What does mistake mean?
• MISTAKE (noun)
The noun MISTAKE has 3 senses:
1. a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
2. an understanding of something that is not correct
3. part of a statement that is not correct
Familiarity information: MISTAKE used as a noun is uncommon.
• MISTAKE (verb)
The verb MISTAKE has 2 senses:
1. identify incorrectly
2. to make a mistake or be incorrect
Familiarity information: MISTAKE used as a verb is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• MISTAKE (noun)
Meaning:
A wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
error; mistake; fault
Context examples:
he made a bad mistake / she was quick to point out my errors / I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults
Hypernyms ("mistake" is a kind of...):
nonaccomplishment; nonachievement (an act that does not achieve its intended goal)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mistake"):
blot; smear; smirch; spot; stain (an act that brings discredit to the person who does it)
renege; revoke (the mistake of not following suit when able to do so)
betise; folly; foolishness; imbecility; stupidity (a stupid mistake)
balls-up; ballup; cockup; mess-up (something badly botched or muddled)
bloomer; blooper; blunder; boner; boo-boo; botch; bungle; flub; foul-up; fuckup; pratfall (an embarrassing mistake)
omission; skip (a mistake resulting from neglect)
lapse; oversight (a mistake resulting from inattention)
offside ((sport) the mistake of occupying an illegal position on the playing field (in football, soccer, ice hockey, field hockey, etc.))
miscue; parapraxis; slip; slip-up (a minor inadvertent mistake usually observed in speech or writing or in small accidents or memory lapses etc.)
distortion (the mistake of misrepresenting the facts)
miscalculation; misestimation; misreckoning (a mistake in calculating)
incursion (the mistake of incurring liability or blame)
confusion; mix-up (a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another)
Meaning:
An understanding of something that is not correct
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
misapprehension; mistake; misunderstanding
Context examples:
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
Hypernyms ("mistake" is a kind of...):
misconception (an incorrect conception)
Meaning:
Part of a statement that is not correct
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Synonyms:
mistake; error
Context example:
the book was full of errors
Hypernyms ("mistake" is a kind of...):
misstatement (a statement that contains a mistake)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mistake"):
erratum; literal; literal error; misprint; typo; typographical error (a mistake in printed matter resulting from mechanical failures of some kind)
corrigendum (a printer's error; to be corrected)
• MISTAKE (verb)
Meaning:
Identify incorrectly
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
misidentify; mistake
Context example:
Don't mistake her for her twin sister
Hypernyms (to "mistake" is one way to...):
identify (consider to be equal or the same)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mistake"):
confound; confuse (mistake one thing for another)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Meaning:
To make a mistake or be incorrect
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Synonyms:
err; mistake; slip
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mistake"):
misremember (remember incorrectly)
slip up; stumble; trip up (make an error)
misjudge (judge incorrectly)
fall for (be deceived, duped, or entrapped by)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
