mistake

noun, verb

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. 2 a word, figure, etc. that is not said or written down correctly: 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 (old-fashioned spoken, especially BrE) used to show that you are sure about the truth of what you have just said: This is a strange business and no mistake. by mistake accidentally; without intending to: I took your bag instead of mine by mistake. make no mistake (about sth) (spoken) used to emphasize what you are saying, especially when you want to warn sb about sth: Make no mistake (about it), this is one crisis that won't just go away. in mistake for sth thinking that sth is sth else: Children may eat pills in mistake for sweets. verb (mistook sth correctly: [VN] I admit that I mistook his intentions. * He had certainly changed, but nobody could mistake his voice. * I mistook her offer as a threat. * There was no mistaking )= it was impossible to mistake( the bitterness in her voice. [also Vwh-] PHRASALVERBS mistake sb/sth for sb/sth to think wrongly that sb/sth is sb/sth else: I think you must be mistaking me for someone else.