mistook Definition

mistake
noun

1. An error.

Thesaurus: error, blunder, faux pas, gaffe, indiscretion, lapse, slip.
2. A regrettable action.
3. An act of understanding or interpreting something wrongly.

Thesaurus: misunderstanding, misconception, misapprehension, delusion, confusion, misreading.

verb mistook, mistaken, mistaking

1. To misinterpret or misunderstand something.

Example: I mistook your meaning
Thesaurus: misconstrue, misapprehend, confuse, misinterpret, be wrong about; Antonym: be accurate, get right.
2. To make the wrong choice of something.

Example: He mistook the turning in the fog

Derivative: mistakable
adj

Idiom: by mistake

Accidentally.

Etymology: 14c as verb: from Norse mistaka to take something wrongly.

Phrasal Verb: mistake someone or something for someone or something else

To identify them or it incorrectly as someone or something else; to wrongly assume or understand them to be what they are not.
Example: might mistake us for intruders
Example: She mistook my silence for disapproval

---

mistook past tense of mistake