Word
mistook
Phoneticsmis·took
US/mɪˈstʊk/
UK/mɪstˈʊk/
Definition
v. the past tense of 'mistake'. It means you identified someone or something incorrectly or understood a situation the wrong way.
v. the past tense of 'mistake'. Refers to the act of incorrectly identifying a person or thing, or misinterpreting a situation or statement.
Examples
“I mistook him for his brother because they look so similar.”
“She mistook my silence for anger, though I was actually just tired from the long journey.”
“The witness mistook the shadow of a passing car for a person entering the building, which complicated the initial police investigation.”
Examples
simple
“I mistook him for his brother because they look so similar.”
contextual
“She mistook my silence for anger, though I was actually just tired from the long journey.”
complex
“The witness mistook the shadow of a passing car for a person entering the building, which complicated the initial police investigation.”
Usage
The verb is transitive and often used with the preposition 'for' when identifying one thing as another.
Pitfall
I mistooked the time
I mistook the time
Mistook is already the past tense form of the irregular verb 'mistake'; do not add '-ed'.
Real-World Examples
“The first time he saw one, he mistook it for a rock.” “The striker admits he was once pulled over by a policeman who mistook him for a player in America's NFL.” Scan code
englishreference.com/q/mistook