honest mistake
noun
: something that anyone could be wrong about
Don't worry about it. It was an honest mistake.
Examples of honest mistake in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Insider Threats: People inside the company, whether acting maliciously or just making an honest mistake, can pose the biggest threat, such as the now-infamous First American Financial Corp Data Leak of 2019, one of the biggest hacks in history, which happened entirely due to human error.
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Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 2026
Smith said that no taxes were due in one of the cases mentioned, and that the other was an honest mistake.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2025
What head coach John Harbaugh called an honest mistake could end up costing the Baltimore Ravens dearly.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Keathley says there needed to be evidence of bad faith, but the nondisclosure was an honest mistake.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 15 Oct. 2025
Sending random cartoon images with ridiculous captions is perhaps an honest mistake.
—Chris Westfall, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
Pearson’s rationale, with an eye on possibly avoiding legal issues down the road, was that student athletes shouldn’t be penalized for an honest mistake.
—Danny Ventura, Boston Herald, 19 Dec. 2024
Now go out there and get a waitress fired for an honest mistake.
—Evan Waite, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024
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Charlotte Observer, 27 Jan. 2026
Smith said that no taxes were due in one of the cases mentioned, and that the other was an honest mistake.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2025
What head coach John Harbaugh called an honest mistake could end up costing the Baltimore Ravens dearly.
—Michael Gallagher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Keathley says there needed to be evidence of bad faith, but the nondisclosure was an honest mistake.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 15 Oct. 2025
Sending random cartoon images with ridiculous captions is perhaps an honest mistake.
—Chris Westfall, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
Pearson’s rationale, with an eye on possibly avoiding legal issues down the road, was that student athletes shouldn’t be penalized for an honest mistake.
—Danny Ventura, Boston Herald, 19 Dec. 2024
Now go out there and get a waitress fired for an honest mistake.
—Evan Waite, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Honest mistake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honest%20mistake. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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