mistake windmills for giants

verb

To perceive ordinary, nonthreatening objects or situations as significant dangers or adversaries, often due to an overly romantic, idealistic, or deluded worldview.

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Meanings

verbmistake windmills for giants (third-person singular simple present mistakes windmills for giants, present participle mistaking windmills for giants, simple past mistook windmills for giants, past participle mistaken windmills for giants)

present singular third person mistakes windmills for giants · participle present mistaking windmills for giants · past mistook windmills for giants · participle past mistaken windmills for giants

  1. idiomaticinformalTo perceive ordinary, nonthreatening objects or situations as significant dangers or adversaries, often due to an overly romantic, idealistic, or deluded worldview.

Origin

Something to do with Don Quixote...

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mistake windmills for giants. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistake%20windmills%20for%20giants

MLA

“mistake windmills for giants.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistake%20windmills%20for%20giants. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mistake windmills for giants,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mistake%20windmills%20for%20giants.

Source: mistake windmills for giants on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.