mistake

Word family  noun mistake adjective mistaken unmistakable verb mistake adverb unmistakably mistakenly

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++mis·take1 /məˈsteɪk/ ●●● S2 W2 noun  1  [countable]MISTAKE something that has been done in the wrong way, or an opinion or statement that is incorrect 〔行为、看法、言辞等上的〕错误 → errormistake in We may have made a mistake in our calculations. 我们的计算中可能有一处算错了。 The most common mistake is to plant them too deep. 最常见的错误就是把它们种得太深了。► see thesaurus at fault2  [countable]MISTAKE something you do that is not sensible or has a bad result 错误〔指不明智或有不良后果的行为〕 Buying the house seemed a great idea at the time, but now I can see it was a terrible mistake. 买这房子当时好像是个很棒的主意，但现在我看是个大错误。 Marrying him was the biggest mistake she ever made. 嫁给他是她一生最大的错误。make the mistake of doing something I stupidly made the mistake of giving them my phone number. 我犯了个愚蠢的错误，把我的电话号码告诉了他们。3  by mistake DELIBERATELY#if you do something by mistake, you do it without intending to 错误地，无意地 SYN accidentally OPP deliberately, on purpose Someone must have left the door open by mistake. 一定是有人疏忽忘了关门。 I’m sorry, this letter is addressed to you – I opened it by mistake. 对不起，这封信是给你的——我拆错了。4  in mistake for somebody/something as a result of a mistake in which someone or something is wrongly thought to be someone or something else （被）误以为是某物/某人 The boy was shot dead in mistake for a burglar. 男孩被人错当成窃贼开枪打死。5. we all make mistakes spokenMISTAKE used to tell someone not to be worried because they have made a mistake 人人都会犯错〔用于告诉别人不用因犯了错而忧心〕6  make no mistake (about it) spokenEMPHASIZE used to emphasize that what you are saying is true, especially when you are warning about something serious or dangerous （对这一点）不要搞错〔用以强调自己所说的是事实，尤在对严重或危险之事提出告诫时〕 Make no mistake, this is the most serious threat our industry has ever seen. 要知道，这是我们行业所遇到过的最严重的威胁。7  and no mistake British English spoken informalCERTAINLY/DEFINITELY used to emphasize the description you have just given 毫无疑问，的确 Miles was a heartbreaker, and no mistake! 迈尔斯绝对是个让人伤心的人！ COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: something that has been done in the wrong way, or an opinion or statement that is incorrect 〔行为、看法、言辞等上的〕错误verbsmake a mistake 犯错The lab must have made a mistake – this can’t be right. 实验室准是出错了——这不可能是对的。correct a mistake 纠正错误Luckily I was able to correct the mistake before my boss saw it. 幸好我在老板看到之前就把错误改正了。realize your mistake 认识到自己的错误As soon as he realized his mistake he turned in the right direction. 他一发现自己错了就转向正确的方向。admit your mistake 承认错误nIt is better to admit your mistake and apologize.mistakes happen 错误在所难免nWe’re very careful, but mistakes can happen.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + mistakea common mistake 常见的错误A common mistake is to imagine that dogs think like humans. 一个常见的错误就是以为狗能像人类一样思考。a little/minor mistake 小错The essay was full of little mistakes. 这篇文章里全是小错。a serious/grave mistake 严重的错误There was a serious mistake in the instructions. 说明书里有个严重的错误。an honest mistake (=a mistake, and not a deliberate action) 无心的错误nThomas admitted he had broken the law, but said that it had been an honest mistake.a silly/stupid mistake 愚蠢的错误nYou need to be able to laugh at your own silly mistakes.an easy mistake (to make) 容易犯的错误nShe looks like her sister, so it’s an easy mistake to make.a spelling mistake 拼写错误nShe spotted two spelling mistakes in the article.phrasesbe full of mistakes 错误百出The article was full of mistakes. 那篇文章错误百出。it is a mistake to think/assume etc something 认为/假设…是错误的It would be a mistake to assume that all snakes are dangerous. 认为所有的蛇都很危险是错误的。there must be some mistake (=used when you think someone has made a mistake) 一定是什么地方弄错了nThere must be some mistake. I definitely booked a room for tonight.be full of mistakes (=have a lot of mistakes) 错误百出The report was full of mistakes. 这篇文章里全是小错。nbe 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. 不要说 ‘do a mistake’. 而要说 make a mistake. THESAURUSmistake something incorrect that you accidentally do, say, or write 〔无意中所犯的〕错误a spelling mistake 拼写错误I made a mistake – it should say £230, not £320. 我搞错了——应该是230英镑，不是320英镑。error formal a mistake 错误，谬误an error in the report 报告中的错误grammatical errors 语法错误He had made a serious error on his tax form. 他填报税表时犯了个严重错误。misprint a small mistake in something that is printed 印刷错误There was a misprint in the article, and instead of ‘pleasant’ it said ‘pheasant’. 文章中有一处印刷错误，应该是pleasant，印成了pheasant。typo informal a mistake in something that has been typed or printed 打字［排印］错误I spotted a couple of typos in the letter. 我在信中发现几处打字错误。inaccuracy formal a piece of information that is not completely correct 不准确，错误The report contained several inaccuracies. 报告有几处不准确。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 〔把姓名、时间、地址等搞混而引起的〕错误There was a mix-up over the train times and I missed my train. 火车时间被搞错了，我没有赶上我的火车。slip-up a careless mistake when you are doing something 失误，疏忽The other team took advantage of the goalie’s slip-up. 对方球队利用了守门员的失误。oversight a mistake in which you forget something or do not notice something 疏忽；失察Through some oversight, the brochures were not ready by the right date. 由于疏忽，宣传手册没有及时做好。a slip of the tongue a mistake in which you accidentally say a similar sounding word 口误When I said Thursday, I meant Tuesday. It was a slip of the tongue. 我说星期四其实是指星期二，这是个口误。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 失态；失礼；失言Harris, trying to be funny, addressed the waiter as ‘boy’. A deathly silence followed this faux pas. 哈里斯想开个玩笑，对着服务员叫“伙计”。这不得体的话一出口，大家顿时不作声了。a stupid mistake 愚蠢的错误blunder a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have serious results 愚蠢[粗心]的错误In a serious blunder by the hospital, two babies were sent home with the wrong parents. 因为医院的严重失误，两名婴儿出院时被搞混了父母。gaffe /ɡæf/ an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public 〔在社交场合或当众的〕出丑，失礼，失言a serious gaffe in her speech about immigration 她就移民问题发表的演讲中的一次严重口误nhowler British English a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something, and that often makes other people laughPhotographers should be careful of making classic howlers, such as having a tree grow out of your subject’s head.ncock-up British English informal a silly mistake when you are doing something – a very informal useThey made a cock-up with the bill.The government is anxious to avoid any more cock-ups. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: something you do that is not sensible or has a bad result 错误〔指不明智或有不良后果的行为〕verbsmake a mistake 犯错nI just want to prevent you from making a terrible mistake.nlearn from your mistakesI’m sure he will learn from his mistakes.nrepeat a mistakeWe certainly do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.adjectivesna big/great mistakeBuying this car was a big mistake.na bad/terrible/dreadful etc mistakeIt would be a terrible mistake to marry him.a serious/grave mistake 严重的错误nThe decision to take the money was a serious mistake.na fatal mistake (=a very bad mistake, often one that ends something)His fatal mistake was to underestimate his opponent.na 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 认为/假设…是错误的nIt is a mistake to try to see everything in the museum in one day.nmake the mistake of doing somethingHe made the mistake of revealing his true intentions.nmake the same mistake again/twiceWe won’t make the same mistake again.

Examples from the Corpus

mistake• It would be a mistake to assume that all participants in the revolt were involved in it for the same reasons.• She certainly hadn't made a mistake with the booking and she had confirmed it.• If you make a mistake, just cross it out.• There's a mistake in the address.• I feel that what we did and the way we did it was a mistake.• It was a mistake to think that we could go on living on borrowed money.• This was a mistake, however, for it developed that the Math Teacher was not at all keen about psychiatry.• I had made a pretty big mistake in how I handled it.• Buying the farm was the biggest mistake of her life.• Again it was one of those games where defensive mistakes gave the points away.• My first mistake was dismissing the SE-40.• All I can say is, I think I've learnt from my mistakes.• Your essay is full of mistakes.• There are a lot of mistakes in this - I'll print it out again.• Sampras was playing badly, making a lot of mistakes.• History was being catalogued here, the missed opportunities, blunders, and outright mistakes.• My first marriage was a terrible failure. I don't want to make the same mistake again.• There must be some mistake - I definitely paid the bill last week.• Check your work carefully for any spelling mistakes.• Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen.• Don't make the mistake of underestimating your opponent.• By the time they realized their mistake and released Mohiuddin, it was too late.• a tiny mistake in their calculationsmistake2 ●●○ verb (past tense mistook /-ˈstʊk/, past participle mistaken /-ˈsteɪkən/) [transitive]  1  UNDERSTAND#to understand something wrongly 弄错，误解，误会 She mistook my meaning entirely. 她完全误解了我的意思。 Ken mistook her concern, thinking she was interested in him for another reason. 肯误解了她的关心，以为她对他感兴趣是另有原因。2  you can’t mistake somebody/something RECOGNIZEused to say that someone or something is very easy to recognize 你不会认错某人/某物 You can’t mistake her. She’s the one with the long red hair. 你不会认错她的，红色长发的那个就是。3  there is no mistaking somebody/something RECOGNIZEused to say that you are certain about something 绝不可能搞错某人/某物 There’s no mistaking whose children they are – they all look just like Joe. 不会搞错他们是谁的孩子——他们长得都很像乔。4 mistake somebody/something for somebody/something phrasal verb RECOGNIZE#to wrongly think that one person or thing is someone or something else 把…错当成 A woman mistook him for a well-known actor, and asked him for his autograph. 有个女的错把他当成是某个著名演员，要他签名。 The doctor mistook the symptoms for blood poisoning. 医生把那些症状误诊为败血症。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

mistake• 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.• After the furore over the schoolgirl rape victim, he risks having a controversial but respectable viewpoint mistaken for insensitivity.• To her embarrassment, she mistook the date of the elections.• This turn also begins with Anderson mistaking the topic of conversation.• Since their directives are binding even when mistaken, they do then make a difference.Origin mistake2 (1300-1400) Old Norse mistaka

mis·take1 noun →COLLOCATIONS1 →COLLOCATIONS2
→THESAURUS1mistake2 verbLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable  

that Corpus something in done been has

mistake

I

mis‧take¹ S2 W2 /məˈsteɪk, mɪˈsteɪk/ noun1. [countable] something that has been done in the wrong way, or an opinion or statement that is incorrect ⇨ error
    mistake in
    We may have made a mistake in our calculations.
    The most common mistake is to plant them too deep.
2. [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.
3. by 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.
4. in 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.
5. we all make mistakes spoken used to tell someone not to be worried because they have made a mistake
6. make 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.
7. and no mistake British English spoken informal used to emphasize the description you have just given:
    Miles was a heartbreaker, and no mistake!
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 1)

■ verbs
   ▪ make 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 + mistake
   ▪ a 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.
■ phrases
   ▪ be 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
    ► Do not say 'do a mistake'. Say make a mistake.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 2)

■ verbs
   ▪ make 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.
■ adjectives
   ▪ a 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.
■ phrases
   ▪ it 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.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ mistake 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 mistake
   ▪ blunder 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 immigration
   ▪ howler 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.

II

mistake² verb (past tense mistook /-ˈstʊk/, past participle mistaken /-ˈsteɪkən/) [transitive]1. to understand something wrongly:
    She mistook my meaning entirely.
    Ken mistook her concern, thinking she was interested in him for another reason.
2. you 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.
3. there 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.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ misunderstand 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.
   ▪ get somebody/something wrong 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.
   ▪ mistake 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.
   ▪ misread/misjudge 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.
   ▪ misinterpret 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.
   ▪ misconstrue formal to misunderstand something that someone has said or done: She claimed that members of the press had misconstrued her comments.
   ▪ miss the point 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.
   ▪ get the wrong end of the stick 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.