2 N‑COUNT In some parts of Britain, people use missus as a very informal way of addressing a woman who they do not know. □ Thanks, missus.
mist /m I st/ (mists , misting , misted )
1 N‑VAR Mist consists of a large number of tiny drops of water in the air, which make it difficult to see very far. □ Thick mist made flying impossible. □ Mists and fog swirled about the road.
2 VERB If a piece of glass mists or is misted , it becomes covered with tiny drops of moisture, so that you cannot see through it easily. □ [V ] The windows misted, blurring the stark streetlight. □ [V n] The temperature in the car was misting the window. ● PHRASAL VERB Mist over and mist up mean the same as mist . □ [V P ] The front windshield was misting over. □ [V -ed P ] She stood in front of the misted-up mirror.
▸ mist over → see mist 2
▸ mist up → see mist 2
mis|take ◆◆◇ /m I ste I k/ (mistakes , mistaking , mistook , mistaken )
1 N‑COUNT [oft by N ] If you make a mistake , you do something which you did not intend to do, or which produces a result that you do not want. □ [+ of ] She made the mistake of going against her doctor's advice. □ I think it's a serious mistake to confuse books with life. □ There must be some mistake. □ He has been arrested by mistake.
2 N‑COUNT A mistake is something or part of something which is incorrect or not right. □ Her mother sighed and rubbed out another mistake in the crossword puzzle. □ …spelling mistakes.
3 VERB If you mistake one person or thing for another, you wrongly think that they are the other person or thing. □ [V n + for ] I mistook you for Carlos.
4 VERB If you mistake something, you fail to recognize or understand it. □ [V n] The government completely mistook the feeling of the country. □ [V wh] No one should mistake how serious the issue is.
5 PHRASE You can say there is no mistaking something when you are emphasizing that you cannot fail to recognize or understand it. [EMPHASIS ] □ There's no mistaking the eastern flavour of the food. USAGE mistake
Don’t say that someone ‘does’ a mistake or an error. Don’t say, for example, ‘
mis|tak|en /m I ste I kən/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you are mistaken about something, you are wrong about it. □ [+ about ] I see I was mistaken about you. □ You couldn't be more mistaken, Alex. You've utterly misread the situation. ● PHRASE [v-link ADJ ] You use expressions such as if I'm not mistaken and unless I'm very much mistaken as a polite way of emphasizing the statement you are making, especially when you are confident that it is correct. [EMPHASIS ] □ I think he wanted to marry her, if I am not mistaken. □ Unless I'm mistaken, he didn't specify what time.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] A mistaken belief or opinion is incorrect. □ …a limited understanding of addiction and mistaken beliefs about how it can be overcome. ● mis|tak|en|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He says they mistakenly believed the standard licenses they held were sufficient.
mis|ta k|en ide n|tity N‑UNCOUNT When someone incorrectly thinks that they have found or recognized a particular person, you refer to this as a case of mistaken identity . □ The dead men could have been the victims of mistaken identity.
mis|ter /m I stə r / N‑COUNT Men are sometimes addressed as mister , especially by children and especially when the person talking to them does not know their name. [INFORMAL ] □ Look, Mister, we know our job, so don't try to tell us what to do.
mis|time /m I sta I m/ (mistimes , mistiming , mistimed ) VERB If you mistime something, you do it at the wrong time, so that it is not successful. □ [V n] You're bound to mistime a tackle every so often. □ [V -ed] …a certain mistimed comment.
mis|tle|toe /m I s ə ltoʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Mistletoe is a plant with pale berries that grows on the branches of some trees. Mistletoe is used in Britain and the United States as a Christmas decoration, and people often kiss under it.
mis|took /m I stʊ k/ Mistook is the past tense of mistake .
mis|treat /m I striː t/ (mistreats , mistreating , mistreated ) VERB If someone mistreats a person or an animal, they treat them badly, especially by making them suffer physically. □ [be V -ed] She has been mistreated by men in the past.
mis|treat|ment /m I striː tmənt/ N‑UNCOUNT Mistreatment of a person or animal is cruel behaviour towards them, especially by making them suffer physically. □ [+ of ] …issues like police brutality and mistreatment of people in prisons.
mis|tress /m I strəs/ (mistresses )
1 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] A married man's mistress is a woman who is not his wife and with whom he is having a sexual relationship. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ She was his mistress for three years.
2 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] A dog's mistress is the woman or girl who owns it. □ The huge wolfhound danced in circles around his mistress.
mis|tri|al /m I stra I əl, [AM ] -tra I -/ (mistrials )
1 N‑COUNT A mistrial is a legal trial that is conducted unfairly, for example because not all the evidence is considered, so that there must be a new trial. □ The past has been scarred by countless mistrials and perversions of justice.