mistake1 nounmistake2 verb
mistakemis‧take1 /məˈsteɪk/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a tiny mistake in their calculations
- All I can say is, I think I've learnt from my mistakes.
- Buying the farm was the biggest mistake of her life.
- Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen.
- Check your work carefully for any spelling mistakes.
- Don't make the mistake of underestimating your opponent.
- I feel that what we did and the way we did it was a mistake.
- If you make a mistake, just cross it out.
- It was a mistake to think that we could go on living on borrowed money.
- My first marriage was a terrible failure. I don't want to make the same mistake again.
- Sampras was playing badly, making a lot of mistakes.
- There's a mistake in the address.
- There are a lot of mistakes in this - I'll print it out again.
- There must be some mistake - I definitely paid the bill last week.
- Your essay is full of mistakes.
- Again it was one of those games where defensive mistakes gave the points away.
- By the time they realized their mistake and released Mohiuddin, it was too late.
- History was being catalogued here, the missed opportunities, blunders, and outright mistakes.
- I had made a pretty big mistake in how I handled it.
- It would be a mistake to assume that all participants in the revolt were involved in it for the same reasons.
- My first mistake was dismissing the SE-40.
- She certainly hadn't made a mistake with the booking and she had confirmed it.
- This was a mistake, however, for it developed that the Math Teacher was not at all keen about psychiatry.
THESAURUS
something incorrect that you accidentally do, say, or write: · a spelling mistake· I made a mistake – it should say £230, not £320.
formal a mistake: · an error in the report· grammatical errors· He had made a serious error on his tax form.
a small mistake in something that is printed: · There was a misprint in the article, and instead of ‘pleasant’ it said ‘pheasant’.
informal a mistake in something that has been typed or printed: · I spotted a couple of typos in the letter.
formal a piece of information that is not completely correct: · The report contained several inaccuracies.
a careless mistake in which one name, time, address etc has been confused with another, so that the details of something are wrong: · There was a mix-up over the train times and I missed my train.
a careless mistake when you are doing something: · The other team took advantage of the goalie’s slip-up.
a mistake in which you forget something or do not notice something: · Through some oversight, the brochures were not ready by the right date.
a mistake in which you accidentally say a similar sounding word: · When I said Thursday, I meant Tuesday. It was a slip of the tongue.
formal an embarrassing mistake in a social situation, when you do or say something that you shouldn’t: · Harris, trying to be funny, addressed the waiter as ‘boy’. A deathly silence followed this faux pas.
a stupid mistake a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have serious results: · In a serious blunder by the hospital, two babies were sent home with the wrong parents.
an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public: · a serious gaffe in her speech about immigration
British English a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something, and that often makes other people laugh: · Photographers should be careful of making classic howlers, such as having a tree grow out of your subject’s head.
British English informal a silly mistake when you are doing something – a very informal use: · They made a cock-up with the bill.· The government is anxious to avoid any more cock-ups.
Longman Language Activatormistake something incorrect that you do, say, or write without intending to: · Your essay is full of mistakes.· Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen.mistake in: · a tiny mistake in their calculationsmake a mistake: · Sampras was playing badly, making a lot of mistakes.there's a mistake: · There must be some mistake - I definitely paid the bill last week.
a mistake - use this especially to talk about mistakes in calculating or in using a language, system, or computer: · An error occurred in the processing of your application.error in: · There seems to be an error in the data.human error (=when a mistake is caused by people, not by a machine): · The report concluded that the accident was caused by human error.computer error (=a mistake caused by a computer): · Over 50 people were denied a vote through a computer error.
a small unimportant mistake that is easy to make: make a slip: · Don't worry -- we all make slips from time to time.· People doing this kind of precision work can't afford to make the slightest slip.
a careless mistake that may spoil a plan or process: · This whole situation only happened because of a slip-up by the bank.· If we are going to win the contract, we can't afford any more slip-ups.
a careless mistake that causes confusion about details, for example someone's name, the time of a meeting etc: · The police have now returned Mr Sullivan's car and apologized for the mix-up.mix-up over: · There was a mix-up over the train times and I arrived two hours late.mix-up in: · I'm afraid there's been a mix-up in the booking - we were expecting you tomorrow.
a mistake that you make by not noticing something or by forgetting to do something: · I'm sure it was just an oversight that your name wasn't on the list.· The bank apologized for the oversight.· Due to an administrative oversight, several members of staff did not receive pay checks this month.
when you accidentally say a different word from the word you intended to say, sometimes with embarrassing results: · He quickly corrected his unfortunate slip of the tongue.· Did I say "Harlow"? Sorry, I meant "Harrow". It was just a slip of the tongue.
British /booboo American informal a silly mistake, especially one that amuses people: · We labelled the pictures with the wrong names, but the boob was spotted by one of our readers.make a boob/booboo: · Whoops! I think I've made a booboo.
a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something: · He read out a selection of howlers from students' exam answers.
a mistake in words that are written or printed a mistake in words that are written, typed, or printed: · If you make a mistake, just cross it out.mistake in: · There's a mistake in the address.spelling mistake: · Check your work carefully for any spelling mistakes.
a mistake in words that are typed or printed: · "It says in this advertisement that the exhibition opens at 10." "That's an error."typing error: · She made very few typing errors.
a word or number that has been printed wrongly: · It can't really cost £20 - it must be a misprint.· In the last sentence, "unclear" is a misprint for "nuclear".
a small mistake in a piece of writing which someone has typed or printed: · The article was badly written and full of typos.
a bad decision that causes problems for you something you do or decide that is not at all sensible and causes you a lot of problems: make a mistake: · My first marriage was a terrible failure. I don't want to make the same mistake again.· Don't make the mistake of underestimating your opponent.it is a mistake to do something: · It was a mistake to think that we could go on living on borrowed money.big/serious/terrible mistake: · Buying the farm was the biggest mistake of her life.learn from your mistakes (=do things better after realizing you have made mistakes): · All I can say is, I think I've learnt from my mistakes.
a mistake caused by planning something badly, and being wrong about the expected result: · The President's election defeat was the result of his own miscalculations.· I thought if I told Mark everything, it would be OK. That was a bad miscalculation.
formal a mistake caused by judging a situation or person wrongly: · In my opinion, appointing his son as chief executive was a serious error of judgment.make an error of judgment: · New, inexperienced members of staff are more liable to make errors of judgment.
informal if something you do is a bad move , it is a mistake because it puts you in a bad or dangerous situation: · He tried arguing with her. This was a bad move.· Perhaps her resignation wasn't such a bad move after all.it is a bad move doing something: · It was a bad move letting him come here in the first place.
a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have very serious results: · It seems to be another public relations blunder by the government.· a series of management blundersmake a blunder: · She stopped, finally aware of the terrible blunder she had made.
a rather bad, silly, or immoral action by someone, especially someone in a public position - often used to make the action seem less bad: youthful indiscretion: · He dismissed his past association with racist groups as a youthful indiscretion.commit an indiscretion: · She confessed that she had committed a minor sexual indiscretion.
a silly mistake that causes social embarrassment especially British /put your foot in your mouth especially American informal to make a stupid mistake by saying something that you should not say, for example because it upsets someone or because it is a secret: · She's a little weird isn't she? Oh no, have I put my foot in my mouth? Is she a friend of yours?· Simon wanted to finish the conversation before he put his foot in it any further.
a mistake made by saying or doing something in a social situation that embarrasses other people: · I asked her how Greg was, which was a bit of a faux pas considering they'd just split up.commit/make a faux pas: · It was at that party that I committed the faux pas of spilling wine all over the host's wife.
an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public: · When she realized she had mistaken him for his brother, she was horrified at her gaffe.make a gaffe: · The minister is well known for making gaffes in his speeches.
to make a mistake · My spoken Spanish was okay, but I kept making mistakes in my written work.· Don't worry - everyone makes mistakes.
especially spoken to make a mistake in something that you do, say, or write, especially when this has bad or annoying results: · I've been here a year now, and my boss still gets my name wrong!· You've got your facts wrong, mate - he doesn't work here any more.get it wrong (=deal with something in the wrong way): · Once again, the government has got it wrong.
to make a mistake at a particular stage in a process, for example, with the result that the whole thing is spoiled: · Check your work again and see if you can spot where you went wrong.· If you follow the easy step-by-step instructions, you really can't go wrong.
to make a careless mistake, especially so that you lose some advantage, or spoil a chance that you had: · We'll just have to hope that the other teams slip up.slip up on: · He slipped up on just one detail.
to make a stupid mistake, usually with very serious results: · The government later admitted it had blundered in its handling of the affair.· He realized he had blundered by picking such an experienced player for the team.
American informal to make a silly mistake: · You really goofed up this time!· Some drivers admit they goofed. Others blame anyone except themselves.
to make a mistake about a person, situation, or amount by wrongly thinking that they are one thing when in fact they are another: · I'm sorry -- it seems I've misjudged you.· It's easy to misjudge the speed of a car heading toward you.· In fact, the US generals had seriously misjudged the determination and endurance of the North Vietnamese.
to do something that seems good at the time but is not sensible: · Don't fall into the trap of trying to be too clever.· It is very easy for the mother to fall into the trap of offering the child only food that she knows the child likes.
when you do something without intending to do it · I accidentally burnt a hole in her sofa with my cigarette.· An 11-month-old baby died after accidentally swallowing several of the tablets.· Fleming discovered the drug by accident, when he was researching something else.completely by accidentalso quite by accident British · I met the man quite by accident, and we began a conversation.
happening without being planned or intended: · She touched his elbow so timidly that he thought it must have been accidental.· an accidental discharge of toxic wastepurely accidental (=completely accidental): · They believe that miscalculations made on the tax forms were purely accidental.
if you do something by mistake , you intend to do one thing, but you accidentally do something else instead: · Michelle must have picked up my keys by mistake.· I opened this by mistake, Paula, but I think it's for you - sorry.· Gary wandered into the wrong hotel room by mistake.
if you mistakenly do something, you intend to do one thing, but you accidentally do something else instead, especially because you are confused: · The crew had mistakenly shut down the engine, and the plane went out of control.· A handful of people die each year from mistakenly eating poisonous fungi.
especially spoken to do something accidentally - use this especially when expressing the idea that you are sorry for something that you have done, or when you think you are being unfairly blamed for something: · I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.· I'm sure he didn't mean to yell at you - he was just angry.· Sorry folks, I don't mean to interrupt your dinner.· If we've offended you in some way, we didn't mean to.
if you say that something was an accident, you mean that you are sorry it happened, but it was not done deliberately: · Marris told the police the killing was an accident· Don't blame yourself - it was an accident.
if you do something unintentionally , especially something bad, you do it even though you do not intend to do it: · Teachers often unintentionally favor certain students.· The advertisement unintentionally offended Scottish people.· Several scenes in the movie are unintentionally funny.
use this about something you do without intending to, especially something that annoys, upsets, or causes problems for someone else: · The senator apologised, saying any offense his remarks had caused had been completely unintentional.· One originally unintended consequence of the discussions was the setting up of an official inquiry into the department's funding.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Meaning 1verbs
Buying that house was a big mistake. Too many job hunters make the classic mistake of thinking only about what’s in it for them. Telling your employees they’re unimportant is a fatal error. You have to learn from your mistakes (=understand why what you did was wrong). The police arrested someone, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. You made a lot of silly mistakes. an essay full of spelling mistakes
· The lab must have made a mistake – this can’t be right.
· Luckily I was able to correct the mistake before my boss saw it.
· As soon as he realized his mistake he turned in the right direction.
· It is better to admit your mistake and apologize.
· We’re very careful, but mistakes can happen.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + mistake· A common mistake is to imagine that dogs think like humans.
· The essay was full of little mistakes.
· There was a serious mistake in the instructions.
(=a mistake, and not a deliberate action)· Thomas admitted he had broken the law, but said that it had been an honest mistake.
· You need to be able to laugh at your own silly mistakes.
· She looks like her sister, so it’s an easy mistake to make.
· She spotted two spelling mistakes in the article.
phrases· The article was full of mistakes.
· It would be a mistake to assume that all snakes are dangerous.
(=used when you think someone has made a mistake)· There must be some mistake. I definitely booked a room for tonight.
(=have a lot of mistakes)· The report was full of mistakes.
(=used to say that a situation happened because of a mistake)· He couldn’t bring himself to tell her it was all a mistake.
COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘do a mistake’. Say make a mistake. Meaning 2verbs· I just want to prevent you from making a terrible mistake.
· I’m sure he will learn from his mistakes.
· We certainly do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.
adjectives· Buying this car was a big mistake.
· It would be a terrible mistake to marry him.
· The decision to take the money was a serious mistake.
(=a very bad mistake, often one that ends something)· His fatal mistake was to underestimate his opponent.
(=that costs you money or has a bad result)· Hiring him turned out to be a costly mistake.
phrases· It is a mistake to try to see everything in the museum in one day.
· He made the mistake of revealing his true intentions.
· We won’t make the same mistake again.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES· Both theories are based on a single wrong assumption.
· the mistaken belief that cannabis is not an addictive drug
Buying that house was a big mistake. Too many job hunters make the classic mistake of thinking only about what’s in it for them. (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)· Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.
Telling your employees they’re unimportant is a fatal error.· The government made at least one fundamental mistake when drawing up this legislation.
(=when people think that someone is a different person, especially with the result that they are accused of something that they did not do)· The defendant claimed he’d been arrested in a case of mistaken identity.
· He had the mistaken impression that Julia was married.· Many people got the false impression she didn’t care.
You have to learn from your mistakes (=understand why what you did was wrong). The police arrested someone, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. You made a lot of silly mistakes. an essay full of spelling mistakes (=a mistake that will harm your plans later)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· The directors do, however, make one big mistake.· That, in retrospect, was a big mistake.· I don't like to sound judgemental, but it really was a big mistake.· His big mistake was to brag to one of the fat traders how he had done it.· Part of her had the feeling that she was making a very big mistake.· Setting them up with one another proved a big mistake.· I shall argue that this reasonable conclusion is actually a big mistake, and that loss of vision makes things even worse.· Ralph is making a big mistake.
· But the pioneer also risks making costly mistakes which its rivals can learn from.· The record shows a tendency to make a couple of kinds of particularly costly mistakes.· The price for not doing so was costly mistakes and severe stress.· To do otherwise could be a costly mistake all round.· But they made a costly mistake in teaching their language to the hoipolloi.· Redesigning chips takes time and money; simulations can help avoid costly mistakes.· After all, if the executives fail in the new location, the employer will have made a costly mistake.· A good frame-maker can keep you from making costly mistakes, says Gelay, such as putting Plexiglas over charcoal.
· This could prove an expensive mistake.· For, as Richard said the wrong choice could prove an expensive mistake.· Neither of them was competent to do that type of business and they made an expensive mistake.· Aunt Tossie, ever loving, ever kind, had made an expensive mistake.· Instructing the wrong engineer can be a horribly expensive mistake.
· But then, during the monsoon of 1661, she made her fatal mistake.· It was an expensive, almost financially fatal mistake.· This may be a fatal mistake.· I almost made a fatal mistake when she asked me to transfer the call to the Oval Office.· But then we asked him a bit more about it and he made his fatal mistake.· Which uncle had told him that was a fatal mistake?· However, in the choice of his last collaborator, Henry Philips, he made a fatal mistake.· The porpoises delight in riding on the bow waves of motor boats, which has frequently proved to be a fatal mistake.
· Here again there was a fundamental mistake.· I believe that would be a fundamental mistake.· He rarely made fundamental mistakes and never, she suspected, about a man's scientific ability.· Prepurchase Preparation A fundamental mistake is commonly made in the basic assumptions of ecommerce business models being designed for the Internet.· I obviously made some fundamental mistakes within the first few days of my move.· His fundamental mistake was not only to buy all his planes, but to buy them only on borrowed money.
· The failure of this objection stems from its confusion of a great mistake with a clear one.· It was a great mistake my ever letting you into the Throne Room.· The greatest mistake in this business is to be sure of yourself.· This was a great mistake, because in 1973 the Arabs did impose an embargo and made it stick.· The virus had annihilated all those who knew of Rassilon's great mistake.· They have made a great mistake.· It is the greatest mistake I have ever made.· Oh, no, that is a great mistake.
· Rex is as capable of making an honest mistake as he is of lying.· It had been an honest mistake, though, the paddy wagon men believing he was dead or dying.· Finally, honest but unreasonable mistakes could arise in situations involving children or mentally subnormal women.· It had been an honest mistake.
· Less serious mistakes are simply insufficient.· This proved to be a serious mistake.· Yet, this is a serious mistake.· I also learned that it is a serious mistake to equate pentecostals with fundamentalists.· Getting engaged to marry some one, then breaking it off - that's a serious mistake.· This would count as a very serious mistake in spoken language interpreting.· Estall has made a serious mistake that could prove his undoing.
· Have I made a terrible mistake?· I made the terrible mistake of returning home to Cheyenne to practice law.· Once I drank too much and spent the night with her, which was a terrible mistake.· I wanted to make up for the terrible mistakes I had made during his childhood and youth.· It was all a terrible mistake.· I was afraid that if I appeared too eager, it might dawn on the woman she had made a terrible mistake.· Frankly, it all looked like a terrible mistake.· Rcagan had no choice but to withdraw the Marines, and in effect admit a terrible mistake.
NOUN· The electric chair for those with spelling mistakes.· I found a spelling mistake in our editorial this morning.· It must be possible to encourage creative expression and to correct spelling mistakes.· These five points do not cover all possible errors, but most spelling mistakes fall into one or more of these groups.· You can also use the spelling checker to identify and correct deliberate spelling mistakes made to speed text entry.· Beneath the window is a bilingual rubbish bin with a spelling mistake.
VERB· The company has since admitted this was a mistake.· There appeared to be real individual differences in the managers willingness to admit mistakes and ask for help.· Mr Irving admitted making mistakes, but said these were made innocently.· Rcagan had no choice but to withdraw the Marines, and in effect admit a terrible mistake.· I admit that was a mistake.· My motto: Be up front and admit mistakes and bad decisions.· He makes little humorous concessive noises in his throat, to admit his mistake.· Later, he swore out an affidavit admitting his own mistake and praising the accuracy of the timekeeper.
· It would be a mistake to assume that all participants in the revolt were involved in it for the same reasons.· Many doctors make the mistake of assuming that poor sleep in the elderly is due to old age.· She had made the mistake of assuming they would think as she did.· The final point by way of preface is that it is a mistake to assume that all black people are deprived.· However, don't make the mistake of assuming that you necessarily need a conventional bass to construct a bassline.· However, it would be a mistake to assume that the behaviour of insects is based solely on instinct.· It is commonplace to hear people claiming to learn by their mistakes but that assumes that a mistake is recognized as such.· His mistake was to assume that the Labour party would provide a more receptive political vehicle for his ideas than the Conservatives.
· He must avoid that sort of mistake in future.· The Minnesota government change leaders avoided this mistake.· Read on to avoid our mistakes!· How is it possible to believe that a human being can avoid making mistakes?· Mr Major avoided these mistakes, at least in their extreme forms.· Redesigning chips takes time and money; simulations can help avoid costly mistakes.· It avoided the mistake that is so often made.· Collaborative learning is especially applicable in situations where it can help a work group avoid remaking old mistakes.
· The result is a hastily produced bill, heavily amended to correct its mistakes.· Part of the value of strategic planning is that it helps an organization recognize and correct its mistakes.· If one search misleads it and sets the weights a bit wrong, then later learning efforts can correct the mistake.· It must be possible to encourage creative expression and to correct spelling mistakes.· For the rest of the season it's a question of fine-tuning and correcting any minor mistakes.· Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen.· The ability of a system to monitor its output and correct for mistakes.· In September, Joseph requested permission to travel to Washington to correct the mistakes made in the recent settlement.
· We can know that we have done our best and be willing to learn from our mistakes.· The doctor was quick to learn from his mistakes, and had a certain cavalier courage that served him well.· As time proceeds they will learn from their mistakes.· Many felt it was easier to recognize and learn from their mistakes than from their successes.· So long as we learn something from every mistake we make, time hasn't been wasted.· You can only hope they learned from their mistakes.· What is important is to learn by our mistakes soas to avoid future problems.· Rather than give up, the program developers began to learn from these mistakes.
· One of the reasons for following a routine like this is so that you are less likely to make a mistake.· I made the terrible mistake of returning home to Cheyenne to practice law.· If they made a mistake on this account then it was the wood's fault, not theirs.· Whenever I make a mistake she calls me an idiot.· I don't want to make any mistakes.· By that rule Mr Raymond made no mistake at all.· Choose battery powered projects as these enable you to make mistakes without any drastic consequences.· The Washington Post, quoting unidentified sources, reported Tuesday that Johnson might be willing to admit he made a mistake.
· They illustrate that, at a time when long-term unemployment is spiralling, it does not pay to make mistakes.· So who pays for the mistake?· Surely they can't really want her to pay for that mistake for the rest of her life!· The borrower, never the bank, pays for its mistakes.· He and his students pay for this mistake one by one.· The recall made them pay for that mistake and sent out a terrible message about making an error in local politics.
· By the time they realized their mistake and released Mohiuddin, it was too late.· The driver later realized his mistake and notified police.· By 10.00am we realize our mistake in not pressing on all night.· Prison officials calculated that she would be released this summer, realizing their mistake only this week.· Almost inevitably Schultz had gone to the wrong church and had let his staff car go before realizing his mistake.· Too late, she realized her mistake.· In time, of course, they realized their mistake.
· The Opposition seem anxious to repeat the mistakes that they made before.· It might also prevent future weapons scientists from repeating the pioneers' mistakes.· Brother Edward did not repeat the mistake.· Funny thing is, he repeated the mistake in Game 4, getting caught in a rundown between second and third base.· The past does not burden the present - but you learn by it, and do not repeat your mistakes.· Most of them shouted over the intercom at every repeated mistake.· This would help ensure the poorer countries did not repeat the environmental mistakes of the northern hemisphere as they pursued economic development.· It can not repeat that mistake.
· Nevertheless it is a mistake to think that the only literary modes which exist are those one period is familiar with.· But it would be a mistake to think that construction work began and ended in New York.· It would be a mistake to think of them as exactly tied options.· Her mistake had been to think that being a part-owner of a property might change him.· It is a mistake to think that only people with hearing loss have difficulty in hearing at meetings.· I obviously made a huge mistake in thinking that we could ever learn to tolerate one another.· It had been a mistake to think anything could change.
· They make a huge mistake if they try to take it.· Indeed it is a mistake to try.· For this reason it can be a mistake to try to break into advertising while you are too young.· We'd grown up in television together, learning from our mistakes, trying out new ideas.· But eventually the pair made the mistake of trying to sell the gems they had claimed were stolen.· The weekly-paid Greater Glasgow Health Board employees first discovered the bank's mistake when they tried to withdraw money from cash machines.· He also made the mistake of trying to frighten the miners with the consequence of sticking to existing conditions.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► in mistake for somebody/something
- Make no mistake about it - I am not going to put up with this anymore.
- And make no mistake about it, she knew I was there.
- And make no mistake, the family works overtime to make its instructions felt.
- And make no mistake, there will be plenty of bets.
- I tried to make no mistakes, but they called me naughty every moment of the day.
- In the second 250 race Robert made no mistakes, leading all the way to win from McCallen and Coulter.
- The Pinot Noirs from Burgundy are often expensive, make no mistake.
- A good sort and no mistake.
- But there was no fluke, and no mistake, about what happened here Sunday.
- It was a Cinderella dress and no mistake.
- It was a real kettle of fish and no mistake.
- My word, it's a bad business and no mistake.
- She was a lively one and no mistake.
- They looked like barmen and no mistake.
- Gary wandered into the wrong hotel room by mistake.
- I deleted a whole afternoon's work on the computer by mistake.
- I opened this by mistake, Paula, but I think it's for you - sorry.
- Jodie opened the letter by mistake
- Michelle must have picked up my keys by mistake.
- As I told you once, we all make mistakes in our youth.
WORD FAMILYadjectivemistakenunmistakableadverbunmistakablymistakenlynounmistakeverbmistake
1[countable] something that has been done in the wrong way, or an opinion or statement that is incorrectmistake in We may have made a mistake in our calculations. The most common mistake is to plant them too deep.► see thesaurus at fault2[countable] something you do that is not sensible or has a bad result: Buying the house seemed a great idea at the time, but now I can see it was a terrible mistake. Marrying him was the biggest mistake she ever made.make the mistake of doing something I stupidly made the mistake of giving them my phone number.3by mistake if you do something by mistake, you do it without intending to SYN accidentally OPP deliberately, on purpose: Someone must have left the door open by mistake. I’m sorry, this letter is addressed to you – I opened it by mistake.4in mistake for somebody/something as a result of a mistake in which someone or something is wrongly thought to be someone or something else: The boy was shot dead in mistake for a burglar.5we all make mistakes spoken used to tell someone not to be worried because they have made a mistake6make no mistake (about it) spoken used to emphasize that what you are saying is true, especially when you are warning about something serious or dangerous: Make no mistake, this is the most serious threat our industry has ever seen.7and no mistake British English spoken informal used to emphasize the description you have just given: Miles was a heartbreaker, and no mistake!COLLOCATIONS– Meaning 1verbsmake a mistake· The lab must have made a mistake – this can’t be right.correct a mistake· Luckily I was able to correct the mistake before my boss saw it.realize your mistake· As soon as he realized his mistake he turned in the right direction.admit your mistake· It is better to admit your mistake and apologize.mistakes happen· We’re very careful, but mistakes can happen.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + mistakea common mistake· A common mistake is to imagine that dogs think like humans.a little/minor mistake· The essay was full of little mistakes.a serious/grave mistake· There was a serious mistake in the instructions.an honest mistake (=a mistake, and not a deliberate action)· Thomas admitted he had broken the law, but said that it had been an honest mistake.a silly/stupid mistake· You need to be able to laugh at your own silly mistakes.an easy mistake (to make)· She looks like her sister, so it’s an easy mistake to make.a spelling mistake· She spotted two spelling mistakes in the article.phrasesbe full of mistakes· The article was full of mistakes.it is a mistake to think/assume etc something· It would be a mistake to assume that all snakes are dangerous.there must be some mistake (=used when you think someone has made a mistake)· There must be some mistake. I definitely booked a room for tonight.be full of mistakes (=have a lot of mistakes)· The report was full of mistakes.be all a mistake (=used to say that a situation happened because of a mistake)· He couldn’t bring himself to tell her it was all a mistake.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘do a mistake’. Say make a mistake.COLLOCATIONS– Meaning 2verbsmake a mistake· I just want to prevent you from making a terrible mistake.learn from your mistakes· I’m sure he will learn from his mistakes.repeat a mistake· We certainly do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.adjectivesa big/great mistake· Buying this car was a big mistake.a bad/terrible/dreadful etc mistake· It would be a terrible mistake to marry him.a serious/grave mistake· The decision to take the money was a serious mistake.a fatal mistake (=a very bad mistake, often one that ends something)· His fatal mistake was to underestimate his opponent.a costly mistake (=that costs you money or has a bad result)· Hiring him turned out to be a costly mistake.phrasesit is a mistake to do something· It is a mistake to try to see everything in the museum in one day.make the mistake of doing something· He made the mistake of revealing his true intentions.make the same mistake again/twice· We won’t make the same mistake again.THESAURUSmistake something incorrect that you accidentally do, say, or write: · a spelling mistake· I made a mistake – it should say £230, not £320.error formal a mistake: · an error in the report· grammatical errors· He had made a serious error on his tax form.misprint a small mistake in something that is printed: · There was a misprint in the article, and instead of ‘pleasant’ it said ‘pheasant’.typo informal a mistake in something that has been typed or printed: · I spotted a couple of typos in the letter.inaccuracy formal a piece of information that is not completely correct: · The report contained several inaccuracies.mix-up a careless mistake in which one name, time, address etc has been confused with another, so that the details of something are wrong: · There was a mix-up over the train times and I missed my train.slip-up a careless mistake when you are doing something: · The other team took advantage of the goalie’s slip-up.oversight a mistake in which you forget something or do not notice something: · Through some oversight, the brochures were not ready by the right date.a slip of the tongue a mistake in which you accidentally say a similar sounding word: · When I said Thursday, I meant Tuesday. It was a slip of the tongue.faux pas /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː, ˈfəʊ pɑː $ ˌfoʊ ˈpɑː/ formal an embarrassing mistake in a social situation, when you do or say something that you shouldn’t: · Harris, trying to be funny, addressed the waiter as ‘boy’. A deathly silence followed this faux pas.a stupid mistakeblunder a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have serious results: · In a serious blunder by the hospital, two babies were sent home with the wrong parents.gaffe /ɡæf/ an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public: · a serious gaffe in her speech about immigrationhowler British English a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something, and that often makes other people laugh: · Photographers should be careful of making classic howlers, such as having a tree grow out of your subject’s head.cock-up British English informal a silly mistake when you are doing something – a very informal use: · They made a cock-up with the bill.· The government is anxious to avoid any more cock-ups.mistake1 nounmistake2 verb
mistakemistake2 ●●○ verb (past tense mistook /-ˈstʊk/, past participle mistaken /-ˈsteɪkən/) [transitive] WORD ORIGINmistake2
Origin:
1300-1400 Old Norse mistakaVERB TABLE
mistake
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | mistake |
| he, she, it | mistakes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | mistook |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have mistaken |
| he, she, it | has mistaken | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had mistaken |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will mistake |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have mistaken |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am mistaking |
| he, she, it | is mistaking | |
| you, we, they | are mistaking | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was mistaking |
| you, we, they | were mistaking | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been mistaking |
| he, she, it | has been mistaking | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been mistaking |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be mistaking |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been mistaking |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- To her embarrassment, she mistook the date of the elections.
- After the furore over the schoolgirl rape victim, he risks having a controversial but respectable viewpoint mistaken for insensitivity.
- Anyway, in these vague expectations I was mistaken.
- If Father van Exem thought that the Archbishop would readily agree, he was mistaken.
- If Holt thinks that this proposal would remove an arbitrary boundary line between adults and children, then he is mistaken.
- She thought his Catholicism, the emotion he mistook for faith, was a pity.
- Since their directives are binding even when mistaken, they do then make a difference.
- This turn also begins with Anderson mistaking the topic of conversation.
THESAURUS
to think that someone means one thing, when in fact they mean something else: · I think you’ve misunderstood what I’m saying.· Some companies appear to have misunderstood the new rules.· Don’t misunderstand me - I have nothing against these people.
especially spoken to misunderstand someone or something – used especially in everyday spoken English: · Looks like you’ve got it all wrong.· You’ve got me all wrong - that’s not what I meant.· Tell me if I’ve got it wrong.
to misunderstand someone’s intentions, and react in the wrong way: · He was a very private man, and some people mistook this for unfriendliness.· I thought she wanted us to leave her alone, but I may been mistaken.
to wrongly believe that someone’s actions show that they have a particular opinion or feeling, or that a situation means that you should behave in particular way: · The party completely misread the mood of the voters at the last election.· Eddie wondered if he should be scared, too. Maybe he had misjudged the situation.
to not understand the true meaning of someone’s actions or words, so that you believe something that is not in fact true: · A lot of people misinterpreted what I was saying, and have called me a racist.· Struggling with an unfamiliar language, the simplest conversations were misinterpreted.
formal to misunderstand something that someone has said or done: · She claimed that members of the press had misconstrued her comments.
to not understand the main part or meaning of what someone is saying or what something is intended to do: · I think you’re missing the whole point of the film.· If he thinks it’s all about how much profit he can make, then he’s missing the point.
British English informal to make a mistake about one part of something that you are told, so that you understand the rest of it in completely the wrong way: · Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick. I thought she was leaving him, not the other way round.
Longman Language Activatormistake something incorrect that you do, say, or write without intending to: · Your essay is full of mistakes.· Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen.mistake in: · a tiny mistake in their calculationsmake a mistake: · Sampras was playing badly, making a lot of mistakes.there's a mistake: · There must be some mistake - I definitely paid the bill last week.
a mistake - use this especially to talk about mistakes in calculating or in using a language, system, or computer: · An error occurred in the processing of your application.error in: · There seems to be an error in the data.human error (=when a mistake is caused by people, not by a machine): · The report concluded that the accident was caused by human error.computer error (=a mistake caused by a computer): · Over 50 people were denied a vote through a computer error.
a small unimportant mistake that is easy to make: make a slip: · Don't worry -- we all make slips from time to time.· People doing this kind of precision work can't afford to make the slightest slip.
a careless mistake that may spoil a plan or process: · This whole situation only happened because of a slip-up by the bank.· If we are going to win the contract, we can't afford any more slip-ups.
a careless mistake that causes confusion about details, for example someone's name, the time of a meeting etc: · The police have now returned Mr Sullivan's car and apologized for the mix-up.mix-up over: · There was a mix-up over the train times and I arrived two hours late.mix-up in: · I'm afraid there's been a mix-up in the booking - we were expecting you tomorrow.
a mistake that you make by not noticing something or by forgetting to do something: · I'm sure it was just an oversight that your name wasn't on the list.· The bank apologized for the oversight.· Due to an administrative oversight, several members of staff did not receive pay checks this month.
when you accidentally say a different word from the word you intended to say, sometimes with embarrassing results: · He quickly corrected his unfortunate slip of the tongue.· Did I say "Harlow"? Sorry, I meant "Harrow". It was just a slip of the tongue.
British /booboo American informal a silly mistake, especially one that amuses people: · We labelled the pictures with the wrong names, but the boob was spotted by one of our readers.make a boob/booboo: · Whoops! I think I've made a booboo.
a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something: · He read out a selection of howlers from students' exam answers.
a mistake in words that are written or printed a mistake in words that are written, typed, or printed: · If you make a mistake, just cross it out.mistake in: · There's a mistake in the address.spelling mistake: · Check your work carefully for any spelling mistakes.
a mistake in words that are typed or printed: · "It says in this advertisement that the exhibition opens at 10." "That's an error."typing error: · She made very few typing errors.
a word or number that has been printed wrongly: · It can't really cost £20 - it must be a misprint.· In the last sentence, "unclear" is a misprint for "nuclear".
a small mistake in a piece of writing which someone has typed or printed: · The article was badly written and full of typos.
a bad decision that causes problems for you something you do or decide that is not at all sensible and causes you a lot of problems: make a mistake: · My first marriage was a terrible failure. I don't want to make the same mistake again.· Don't make the mistake of underestimating your opponent.it is a mistake to do something: · It was a mistake to think that we could go on living on borrowed money.big/serious/terrible mistake: · Buying the farm was the biggest mistake of her life.learn from your mistakes (=do things better after realizing you have made mistakes): · All I can say is, I think I've learnt from my mistakes.
a mistake caused by planning something badly, and being wrong about the expected result: · The President's election defeat was the result of his own miscalculations.· I thought if I told Mark everything, it would be OK. That was a bad miscalculation.
formal a mistake caused by judging a situation or person wrongly: · In my opinion, appointing his son as chief executive was a serious error of judgment.make an error of judgment: · New, inexperienced members of staff are more liable to make errors of judgment.
informal if something you do is a bad move , it is a mistake because it puts you in a bad or dangerous situation: · He tried arguing with her. This was a bad move.· Perhaps her resignation wasn't such a bad move after all.it is a bad move doing something: · It was a bad move letting him come here in the first place.
a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have very serious results: · It seems to be another public relations blunder by the government.· a series of management blundersmake a blunder: · She stopped, finally aware of the terrible blunder she had made.
a rather bad, silly, or immoral action by someone, especially someone in a public position - often used to make the action seem less bad: youthful indiscretion: · He dismissed his past association with racist groups as a youthful indiscretion.commit an indiscretion: · She confessed that she had committed a minor sexual indiscretion.
a silly mistake that causes social embarrassment especially British /put your foot in your mouth especially American informal to make a stupid mistake by saying something that you should not say, for example because it upsets someone or because it is a secret: · She's a little weird isn't she? Oh no, have I put my foot in my mouth? Is she a friend of yours?· Simon wanted to finish the conversation before he put his foot in it any further.
a mistake made by saying or doing something in a social situation that embarrasses other people: · I asked her how Greg was, which was a bit of a faux pas considering they'd just split up.commit/make a faux pas: · It was at that party that I committed the faux pas of spilling wine all over the host's wife.
an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public: · When she realized she had mistaken him for his brother, she was horrified at her gaffe.make a gaffe: · The minister is well known for making gaffes in his speeches.
to make a mistake · My spoken Spanish was okay, but I kept making mistakes in my written work.· Don't worry - everyone makes mistakes.
especially spoken to make a mistake in something that you do, say, or write, especially when this has bad or annoying results: · I've been here a year now, and my boss still gets my name wrong!· You've got your facts wrong, mate - he doesn't work here any more.get it wrong (=deal with something in the wrong way): · Once again, the government has got it wrong.
to make a mistake at a particular stage in a process, for example, with the result that the whole thing is spoiled: · Check your work again and see if you can spot where you went wrong.· If you follow the easy step-by-step instructions, you really can't go wrong.
to make a careless mistake, especially so that you lose some advantage, or spoil a chance that you had: · We'll just have to hope that the other teams slip up.slip up on: · He slipped up on just one detail.
to make a stupid mistake, usually with very serious results: · The government later admitted it had blundered in its handling of the affair.· He realized he had blundered by picking such an experienced player for the team.
American informal to make a silly mistake: · You really goofed up this time!· Some drivers admit they goofed. Others blame anyone except themselves.
to make a mistake about a person, situation, or amount by wrongly thinking that they are one thing when in fact they are another: · I'm sorry -- it seems I've misjudged you.· It's easy to misjudge the speed of a car heading toward you.· In fact, the US generals had seriously misjudged the determination and endurance of the North Vietnamese.
to do something that seems good at the time but is not sensible: · Don't fall into the trap of trying to be too clever.· It is very easy for the mother to fall into the trap of offering the child only food that she knows the child likes.
easy to recognize someone or something that is familiar is easy to recognize, because you have seen or heard them many times before: · Gibson's name is familiar -- what else did he write?· He scanned the audience, searching for a familiar face.· Mimicking the President's familiar accent, DJ Rogers told his listeners that aliens had invaded.familiar to: · The first track on the album will be instantly familiar to Billie Holliday fans.· The giant cross has become a familiar landmark to generations of San Franciscans. look/sound/feel etc familiar: · That girl looks familiar. I'm sure I've met her before.a familiar figure (=someone who is often seen in a particular place and therefore is familiar to the people there): · Kylie soon became a familiar figure at some of London's top fashion stores.a familiar face (=someone you have met before): · It's nice to see a familiar face - I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone here.· The local policeman is now a familiar figure in our school.faintly/vaguely familiar (=only slightly familiar, so that you are not quite sure whether you know them or not): · The man seated at the next table looked faintly familiar.· She was singing along to a tune on the radio that sounded vaguely familiar.
also recognisable British if something is recognizable , it is easy to recognize, for example because it has a particular sound or appearance: · No recognizable remains of Minoan ships have ever been found until now.· Many mental illnesses are only recognizable after many careful weeks spent talking to the patient.· Muffled noises were coming from the room, the only recognizable sound being her daughter's laughter.recognizable as: · an animal so thin and weak it was barely recognizable as a horse· The body was so badly burned it was no longer recognizable as a human being.recognizable by: · The staff are easily recognisable by their pale green uniforms.easily/instantly/immediately recognizable: · Macy has an instantly recognizable voice.· On the outskirts of the town, we saw a building that was immediately recognizable as a prison.
impossible not to recognize: · Shots rang out, and we heard the unmistakable sound of a human scream.· When an envelope arrived bearing Dad's unmistakable handwriting, I knew something must be wrong. · Her accent was unmistakable -- Southern Ireland, probably West coast.· He'd started burning incense to disguise the unmistakable odour of marijuana coming from his bedroom.
spoken use this to say that someone or something is easy to recognize: · I turned round -- there was no mistaking that voice -- it was Billie.· There's no mistaking this as anything but a Japanese car.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Buying that house was a big mistake. Too many job hunters make the classic mistake of thinking only about what’s in it for them. Telling your employees they’re unimportant is a fatal error. You have to learn from your mistakes (=understand why what you did was wrong). The police arrested someone, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. You made a lot of silly mistakes. an essay full of spelling mistakes
· Both theories are based on a single wrong assumption.
· the mistaken belief that cannabis is not an addictive drug
Buying that house was a big mistake. Too many job hunters make the classic mistake of thinking only about what’s in it for them. (=a mistake which results in someone having to spend a lot of money)· Choosing the wrong builder turned out to be an expensive mistake.
Telling your employees they’re unimportant is a fatal error.· The government made at least one fundamental mistake when drawing up this legislation.
(=when people think that someone is a different person, especially with the result that they are accused of something that they did not do)· The defendant claimed he’d been arrested in a case of mistaken identity.
· He had the mistaken impression that Julia was married.· Many people got the false impression she didn’t care.
You have to learn from your mistakes (=understand why what you did was wrong). The police arrested someone, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. You made a lot of silly mistakes. an essay full of spelling mistakes (=a mistake that will harm your plans later)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Most important, they ignored Uncle Sam. Big mistake.· Promises, but no action. Big mistake.
· The resemblance is so close that a human can easily mistake the new song for the sound of a trimphone.· He said they are difficult to find because most are in isolated locations and are easily mistaken for natural springs.· With × 12 the haze is much more pronounced, and an unwary observer could easily mistake it for a comet.· Even when labels are seemingly clear, they may be easily mistaken.· A stranger could easily mistake the scene for a sports day or a prize-giving ceremony.· Indeed, at first glance it could be easily mistaken for Venus.
· But unless I am much mistaken, the ingestion of strange materials really is proliferating.· Unless she was much mistaken in that young man, pure chance played very little part in his proceedings.· She was soon left in no doubt at all, however, that she was very much mistaken.· Joan's meeting with her Edward will be, unless I am much mistaken, joy indeed!· But if either of them imagines they can force my hand, they much mistake the matter!
· The convention most often mistaken for logic is explicitness, which, he shows, is not the same thing at all.· Though in his early 50s, he was often mistaken for being in his 60s.· She is, however, only two years old but is often mistaken as being older.· It seeks to function with a machine-like efficiency, which is often mistaken for true effectiveness.· But because it's so authentic people often mistake him for a real policeman.· Motorists often mistake them for photo radar, which detects speeders, Johnson said.· But he earned this appreciation with his charm, which was often mistaken for ability.· Similarly, the effects of alcohol abuse are often mistaken for depression, again because the physical and mental symptoms are similar.
· Or perhaps he was quite mistaken, and what his nature called for was both.· It is, for example, quite mistaken to believe that all farmers are hostile towards environmentalism.
· The grunts out in the jungle thought we were always spiffy and clean, but they were sadly mistaken.
NOUN· The last fifty years of work in Al suggests that this may be a mistaken belief.
· No doubt they are frequently mistaken in all cases.· The judgment we know to be mistaken, the case it supports too drily utilitarian.
· A man should be passionate, make mistakes if he has to, get out of line.
· Finally, these decisions give support to a current mistaken view of the Constitution and the constitutional function of this Court.· But this is a mistaken and shortsighted view.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Their lies are so obvious, you can't mistake them.
- There is no mistaking Hall's books as anything other than romantic fiction.
- But there is no mistaking the fact that the First Division door has been left ajar.
- If all goes well, Beech Road will start at 2-1 or less at Cheltenham as there is no mistaking his superiority.
- Some of the gaps must be due to chance, but there is no mistaking the insularity of interest which these volumes display.
WORD FAMILYadjectivemistakenunmistakableadverbunmistakablymistakenlynounmistakeverbmistake
1to understand something wrongly: She mistook my meaning entirely. Ken mistook her concern, thinking she was interested in him for another reason.2you can’t mistake somebody/something used to say that someone or something is very easy to recognize: You can’t mistake her. She’s the one with the long red hair.3there is no mistaking somebody/something used to say that you are certain about something: There’s no mistaking whose children they are – they all look just like Joe.mistake somebody/something for somebody/something phrasal verb to wrongly think that one person or thing is someone or something else: A woman mistook him for a well-known actor, and asked him for his autograph. The doctor mistook the symptoms for blood poisoning.