MISTAKE1 mistake2 a mistake in words that are written or printed3 a bad decision that causes problems for you4 a silly mistake that causes social embarrassment5 to make a mistakeRELATED WORDSby accident 意外地ACCIDENTALLYsee alsoWRONGCARELESSCONFUSED1 mistake 错误mistake /mɪˈsteɪk, məˈsteɪk/ [countable noun]something incorrect that you do, say, or write without intending to 错误 Your essay is full of mistakes. 你的文章错误百出。 Celia corrected the mistakes with a pen. 西莉亚用钢笔改正错误。mistake in a tiny mistake in their calculations 他们计算中的一个小错误make a mistake Sampras was playing badly, making a lot of mistakes. 桑普拉斯打得很糟，出现了大量失误。there's a mistake There must be some mistake - I definitely paid the bill last week. 肯定出错了—上星期我肯定把账单付清了。error /ˈerəʳ/ [countable/uncountable noun]a mistake - use this especially to talk about mistakes in calculating or in using a language, system, or computer 错误，失误〔尤指计算或使用语言、系统或电脑的错误〕 An error occurred in the processing of your application. 处理你的申请的过程中出现了失误。error in There seems to be an error in the data. 数据中好像有个错误。human errorwhen a mistake is caused by people, not by a machine 人为错误 The report concluded that the accident was caused by human error. 报告得出的结论是，事故是由人为失误造成的。computer errora mistake caused by a computer 电脑错误 Over 50 people were denied a vote through a computer error. 由于电脑出了错，有五十多人未能投票。slip /slɪp/ [countable noun]a small unimportant mistake that is easy to make 小错误make a slip Don't worry -- we all make slips from time to time. 别担心—我们有时都会犯小错误的。 People doing this kind of precision work can't afford to make the slightest slip. 做这种精细工作的人连最微小的错误都不能犯。slip-up /ˈslɪp ʌp/ [countable noun]a careless mistake that may spoil a plan or process 〔可能会破坏计划或过程的差错；疏忽 This whole situation only happened because of a slip-up by the bank. 由于银行的疏忽，现在这种情况才会发生。 If we are going to win the contract, we can't afford any more slip-ups. 如果想要获得合同，我们就不能再出差错了。mix-up /ˈmɪks ʌp/ [countable noun]a careless mistake that causes confusion about details, for example someone's name, the time of a meeting etc 〔引起混乱的〕错误；混淆 The police have now returned Mr Sullivan's car and apologized for the mix-up. 现在警察已经把沙利文先生的汽车归还给他，并为他们的失误表示道歉。mix-up over There was a mix-up over the train times and I arrived two hours late. 我搞错了火车时刻表，晚了两小时才到。mix-up in I'm afraid there's been a mix-up in the booking - we were expecting you tomorrow. 恐怕在预订登记时出了差错，我们以为你明天才到。oversight /ˈəʊvəʳsaɪt/ [countable noun]a mistake that you make by not noticing something or by forgetting to do something 失察；疏忽 I'm sure it was just an oversight that your name wasn't on the list. 我肯定你的名字不在名单上是疏忽造成的。 The bank apologized for the oversight. 那家银行为疏忽表示了歉意。 Due to an administrative oversight, several members of staff did not receive pay checks this month. 由于管理上的失察，有几位员工本月没有收到工资支票。slip of the tongue /ˌslɪp əv ðə ˈtʌŋ/ [noun phrase]when you accidentally say a different word from the word you intended to say, sometimes with embarrassing results 口误 He quickly corrected his unfortunate slip of the tongue. 他很快纠正了自己不得体的口误。 Did I say ‘Harlow’? Sorry, I meant ‘Harrow’. It was just a slip of the tongue. 我刚才说了Harlow吗？抱歉，我是想说Harrow，刚才是口误了。boobBritish/boobooAmerican /buːb, ˈbuːbuː/ [singular noun]informala silly mistake, especially one that amuses people 【非正式】愚蠢的错误〔尤指令人感到好笑的〕 We labelled the pictures with the wrong names, but the boob was spotted by one of our readers. 我们把图片的标题弄错了，但这个可笑的错误被一个读者发现了。make a boob/booboo Whoops! I think I've made a booboo. 哎哟！我想我是出洋相了。howler /ˈhaʊləʳ/ [countable noun]a very bad mistake, especially one that shows you do not know something 可笑的错误 He read out a selection of howlers from students’ exam answers. 他把一些从学生考卷答案中挑选出的可笑错误读了出来。2 a mistake in words that are written or printed 书写或印刷的错误mistake /mɪˈsteɪk, məˈsteɪk/ [countable noun]amistake in words that are written, typed, or printed 错误 If you make a mistake, just cross it out. 如果写错了就划掉。mistake in There's a mistake in the address. 地址中有一处错误。spelling mistake Check your work carefully for any spelling mistakes. 仔细检查一下写好的东西中有没有拼写错误。error /ˈerəʳ/ [countable noun]a mistake in words that are typed or printed 〔打字或印刷中出现的〕错误 ‘It says in this advertisement that the exhibition opens at 10.’ ‘That's an error.’ “这个广告中说展览会10点钟开始。”“那是印错了。”typing error She made very few typing errors. 她打字极少出错。misprint /ˈmɪs-prɪnt/ [countable noun]a word or number that has been printed wrongly 印刷错误 It can't really cost £20 - it must be a misprint. 那东西不可能值20英镑，肯定是印错了。 In the last sentence, ‘unclear’ is a misprint for ‘nuclear’. 在最后一句中，nuclear被错印成unclear。typo /ˈtaɪpəʊ/ [countable noun]a small mistake in a piece of writing which someone has typed or printed 打字错误；印刷错误 The article was badly written and full of typos. 这篇文章写得很差，打字错误连篇。3 a bad decision that causes problems for you 给你带来问题的错误决定mistake /mɪˈsteɪk, məˈsteɪk/ [countable noun]something you do or decide that is not at all sensible and causes you a lot of problems 错误make a mistake My first marriage was a terrible failure. I don't want to make the same mistake again. 我的第一次婚姻彻底地失败了，我不想再犯相同的错误。 Don't make the mistake of underestimating your opponent. 不要犯轻敌的错误。it is a mistake to do something It was a mistake to think that we could go on living on borrowed money. 我们以为可以靠借钱度日，这是错误的想法。big/serious/terrible mistake Buying the farm was the biggest mistake of her life. 买下这座农场是她一生中所犯的最大错误。learn from your mistakesdo things better after realizing you have made mistakes 从错误中吸取教训 All I can say is, I think I've learnt from my mistakes. 我所能说的就是这句话：我觉得自己已经从所犯的错误中得到教训了。miscalculation /ˌmɪskælkjɑˈleɪʃən/ [countable noun]a mistake caused by planning something badly, and being wrong about the expected result 错误判断；错误估计 The President's election defeat was the result of his own miscalculations. 总统在大选中失利是由他本人的错误判断造成的。 I thought if I told Mark everything, it would be OK. That was a bad miscalculation. 我本以为把一切都告诉马克就没有问题了。可这种估计大错特错了。error of judgment /ˌerər əv ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/ [noun phrase]formala mistake caused by judging a situation or person wrongly 【正式】判断错误 In my opinion, appointing his son as chief executive was a serious error of judgment. 据我看来，任命他儿子当总裁是个严重的判断错误。make an error of judgment New, inexperienced members of staff are more liable to make errors of judgment. 缺乏工作经验的新员工更容易出现判断错误。be a bad move /biː ə ˌbæd ˈmuːv/ [verb phrase]informalif something you dois a bad move, it is a mistake because it puts you in a bad or dangerous situation 【非正式】错走一步；犯了错误 He tried arguing with her. This was a bad move. 他试图和她争执，这就犯了个错误。 Perhaps her resignation wasn't such a bad move after all. 也许她辞职这一步不能算走得太糟。it is a bad move doing something It was a bad move letting him come here in the first place. 让他来这里首先就是错误的一步。blunder /ˈblʌndəʳ/ [countable noun]a stupid mistake caused by not thinking carefully enough about what you are saying or doing, which could have very serious results 冒失的错误；愚蠢的大错 It seems to be another public relations blunder by the government. 看来在公共关系上，政府又犯了愚蠢的大错。 a series of management blunders 一连串重大的管理失误make a blunder She stopped, finally aware of the terrible blunder she had made. 她停了下来，终于意识到自己犯了可怕的错误。indiscretion /ˌɪndɪˈskreʃən/ [countable noun]a rather bad, silly, or immoral action by someone, especially someone in a public position - often used to make the action seem less bad 〔尤指公众注意的人〕言行失检；纰漏youthful indiscretion He dismissed his past association with racist groups as a youthful indiscretion. 他把过去自己和种族主义团体的联系称为是年轻人的行为不慎。commit an indiscretion She confessed that she had committed a minor sexual indiscretion. 她承认自己在性关系方面犯有一次小过失。4 a silly mistake that causes social embarrassment 社交上引起尴尬的愚蠢过失put your foot in itespecially British/put your foot in your mouthespecially American /ˌpʊt jɔːʳ ˈfʊt ɪn ɪt, pʊt jɔːʳ ˌfʊt ɪn jɔːʳ ˈmaʊθ/ [verb phrase]informalto make a stupid mistake by saying something that you should not say, for example because it upsets someone or because it is a secret 【非正式】失言，说错话；说话不得体 She's a little weird isn't she? Oh no, have I put my foot in my mouth? Is she a friend of yours? 她有点古怪，是不是？噢，我说漏嘴了吧？她是你朋友吗？ Simon wanted to finish the conversation before he put his foot in it any further. 西蒙希望在自己说错更多话之前结束这场谈话。faux pas /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː, ˈfəʊ pɑː/ [countable noun]a mistake made by saying or doing something in a social situation that embarrasses other people 不得体的话〔行动〕；失言；失礼 I asked her how Greg was, which was a bit of a faux pas considering they'd just split up. 我问她格雷格最近好不好，这是不太得体的，因为他俩刚刚分了手。commit/make a faux pas It was at that party that I committed the faux pas of spilling wine all over the host's wife. 就是在那次聚会上我犯了有失体面的错误，把酒洒了主人的妻子一身都是。gaffe /gæf/ [countable noun]an embarrassing and stupid mistake made in a social situation or in public 〔社交场合中的或当众的〕失礼；失言；失态 When she realized she had mistaken him for his brother, she was horrified at her gaffe. 她意识到错把他当成他弟弟时，对自己的失礼大为吃惊。make a gaffe The minister is well known for making gaffes in his speeches. 部长演说时会失言，这是人尽皆知的事。5 to make a mistake 犯错误make a mistake /ˌmeɪk ə mɪˈsteɪk/ [verb phrase] My spoken Spanish was okay, but I kept making mistakes in my written work. 我的西班牙语说说还可以，但写起来就错误连篇了。 Don't worry - everyone makes mistakes. 别担心，人人都会犯错误。get something wrong /ˌget something ˈrɒŋǁ-ˈrɔːŋ/ [verb phrase]especially spokento make a mistake in something that you do, say, or write, especially when this has bad or annoying results 【尤口】把某事搞错〔尤指这造成不良后果或令他人恼火〕 I've been here a year now, and my boss still gets my name wrong! 我在这里有一年了，老板还会把我名字搞错！ You've got your facts wrong, mate - he doesn't work here any more. 老兄，你把事情弄错啦，他已经不在这里工作了。get it wrongdeal with something in the wrong way 以错误的方法处理某事 Once again, the government has got it wrong. 政府再一次犯了错误。go wrong /ˌgəʊ ˈrɒŋǁ-ˈrɔːŋ/ [verb phrase]to make a mistake at a particular stage in a process, for example, with the result that the whole thing is spoiled 〔在一个过程的某一步〕出错 Check your work again and see if you can spot where you went wrong. 你把自己的工作再检查一遍，看看能否找到出错的地方。 If you follow the easy step-by-step instructions, you really can't go wrong. 按照简单的说明一步一步地去做，你不可能出错。slip up /ˌslɪp ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]to make a careless mistake, especially so that you lose some advantage, or spoil a chance that you had 疏忽；大意〔尤指因此而丧失优势或错过了机会〕 We'll just have to hope that the other teams slip up. 我们只得寄希望于其他球队自己出错了。slip up on He slipped up on just one detail. 他只在一个细节上疏忽了。blunder /ˈblʌndəʳ/ [intransitive verb]to make a stupid mistake, usually with very serious results 犯笨拙的错误；犯愚蠢的大错〔常引致非常严重的后果〕 The government later admitted it had blundered in its handling of the affair. 政府后来承认在处理这件事情时犯了大错。 He realized he had blundered by picking such an experienced player for the team. 他意识到把这样一个缺乏经验的选手选入队中是个愚蠢的错误。goof/goof up /guːf, ˌguːf ˈʌp/ [intransitive verb]American informalto make a silly mistake 【美，非正式】犯愚蠢的错误 You really goofed up this time! 这回你可真犯了个愚蠢的错误！ Some drivers admit they goofed. Others blame anyone except themselves. 有些驾车者会承认自己犯错，另一些人则全然责怪别misjudge /mɪsˈdʒʌdʒ/ [transitive verb]to make a mistake about a person, situation, or amount by wrongly thinking that they are one thing when in fact they are another 错误地判断〔人、情况或数量〕 I'm sorry -- it seems I've misjudged you. 抱歉，看来我错看你了。 It's easy to misjudge the speed of a car heading toward you. 很容易把朝你迎面开来的汽车的车速判断错。 In fact, the US generals had seriously misjudged the determination and endurance of the North Vietnamese. 事实上，美国的将领大大低估了越南北部人民的决心和毅力。fall into the trap of doing something /ˌfɔːl ɪntə ðə ˌtræp əv ˈduːɪŋ something/ [verb phrase]to do something that seems good at the time but is not sensible 做某事不明智 Don't fall into the trap of trying to be too clever. 别弄巧成拙。 It is very easy for the mother to fall into the trap of offering the child only food that she knows the child likes. 做妈妈很容易犯这种错误，就是只给孩子吃爱吃的东西。