rectify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make, put, or set right; remedy; correct.
He sent them a check to rectify his account.
-
to put right by adjustment or calculation, as an instrument or a course at sea.
- Synonyms:
- straighten, regulate, adjust
-
Chemistry. to purify (especially a spirit or liquor) by repeated distillation.
-
Electricity. to change (an alternating current) into a direct current.
-
to determine the length of (a curve).
-
Astronomy, Geography. to adjust (a globe) for the solution of any proposed problem.
verb
-
to put right; correct; remedy
-
to separate (a substance) from a mixture or refine (a substance) by fractional distillation
-
to convert (alternating current) into direct current
-
maths to determine the length of (a curve)
-
to cause (an object) to assume a linear motion or characteristic
Other Word Forms
- rectifiable adjective
- rectification noun
- self-rectifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of rectify
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rectifien, from Middle French rectifier, from Medieval Latin rēctificāre, from Latin rēct(us) “right, straight” + -ificāre -ify; right
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last year, he proposed to rectify this injustice via the Capital Gains Inflation Relief Act of 2025.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Though some of those practices still exist in some form, emerging public consciousness and civil rights activists have put increasing pressure on policymakers to take steps to rectify this.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
"Apologies for that but I promise we will make it better. We are going to go away and work as hard as we can to go away and rectify things."
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026
Wiener said his bill would rectify those impediments.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026
It can’t really be happening, the situation will rectify itself.’
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
