Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

mistake

1 noun
     
mis‧take1 S2 W2
1 [countable] something that has been done in the wrong way, or an opinion or statement that is incorrect [↪ error]COLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
make a mistake be full of mistakes/be littered with mistakes (=have a lot of mistakes in it ) spelling mistake silly mistake common mistake honest mistake (=something not done deliberately) admit your mistake (=admit that you have made a mistake) correct a mistake it is a mistake to think/assume/imagine etc that there must be some mistake (=used when you think someone has made a mistake)
mistake in
We may have made a mistake in our calculations.
a mistake in the law
Ivan's work is always full of mistakes.
One silly mistake cost them the match.
The most common mistake is to plant them too deep.
Please believe me. It was an honest mistake.
Did he admit his mistake?
He warned that correcting the mistakes of the present administration would not be easy.
It is a mistake to think that violence can bring a solution to our problems.
 ! Do not say 'do a mistake'. Say make a mistake. ➔ see usage note fault1
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 mistake.
It's your decision, but I warn you - you're making a mistake.
make the mistake of doing something
I stupidly made the mistake of giving them my phone number.
It proved to be a costly mistake.
She only realized her mistake when it was too late.
Some of our decisions were wrong, but you have to learn from your mistakes.
make the same mistake (again/twice)
I don't intend to make the same mistake again.
3

by mistake

if you do something by mistake, you do it without intending to [= accidentally; ≠ 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

we all make mistakes

spoken used to tell someone not to be worried because they have made a mistake
5

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.
6

and no mistake

British English spoken informal used to emphasize the description you have just given:
Miles was a heartbreaker, and no mistake!
WORD CHOICE: WORD CHOICE:

fault, blame, mistakeIf someone causes something bad, you can say that it is their fault or that they are to blame • The accident was my fault. • Nobody is to blame for what happened. !! Do not say that someone 'has the/a etc fault' • We didn't think that it was our fault OR that we were to blame (NOT that we had any fault).!! Do not say that something is 'someone's blame'.Use fault to mean something that is wrong with a machine or system, or something that you could criticize about a person or thing • The car engine had developed a fault. • The book's only fault is that it is too long.Use mistake to mean something that is wrong in someone's grammar, spelling, calculations, decisions etc • Please correct any mistakes (NOT faults) in my letter. ➔ See also fault
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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