correct
Americanverb (used with object)
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to set or make true, accurate, or right; remove the errors or faults from: The new glasses corrected his eyesight.
The native guide corrected our pronunciation.
The new glasses corrected his eyesight.
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to point out or mark the errors in.
The teacher corrected the examination papers.
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to scold, rebuke, or punish in order to improve.
Should parents correct their children in public?
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to counteract the operation or effect of (something hurtful or undesirable).
The medication will correct stomach acidity.
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Mathematics, Physics. to alter or adjust so as to bring into accordance with a standard or with a required condition.
verb (used without object)
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to make a correction or corrections.
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(of stock prices) to reverse a trend, especially temporarily, as after a sharp advance or decline in previous trading sessions.
adjective
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conforming to fact or truth; free from error; accurate.
a correct answer.
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in accordance with an acknowledged or accepted standard; proper.
correct behavior.
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(of a judgment or opinion) just or right.
I feel this decision is correct because of the defendant’s age.
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characterized by or adhering to a liberal or progressive ideology on matters of ethnicity, religion, sexuality, ecology, etc..
Is it environmentally correct to buy a real Christmas tree?
Most of the judges in this district have correct political views.
verb
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to make free from errors
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to indicate the errors in
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to rebuke or punish in order to set right or improve
to correct a child
to stand corrected
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to counteract or rectify (a malfunction, ailment, etc)
these glasses will correct your sight
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to adjust or make conform, esp to a standard
adjective
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free from error; true; accurate
the correct version
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in conformity with accepted standards
correct behaviour
Synonym Usage
See punish. Correct, accurate, precise imply conformity to fact, standard, or truth. A correct statement is one free from error, mistakes, or faults. An accurate statement is one that shows careful conformity to fact, truth, or spirit. A precise statement shows scrupulously strict and detailed conformity to fact.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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correctornoun
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correctableadjective
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well-correctedadjective
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correctnessnoun
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correctabilitynoun
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correctlyadverb
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correctibleadjective
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correctibilitynoun
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uncorrectedadjective
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recorrectverb (used with object)
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have correctedperfect
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has correctedperfect 3rd person singular
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are correctingprogressive
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has been correctingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am correctingprogressive 1st person singular
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is correctingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been correctingperfect progressive
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correctingparticiple
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correctssingular 3rd person
Past
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had correctedperfect
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had been correctingperfect progressive
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was correctingprogressive singular
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correctedsimple
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were correctingprogressive plural
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correctedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of correct
First recorded in 1300–50; (verb) Middle English correcten, from Anglo-French correcter, from Latin corrēctus (past participle of corrigere “to make straight, set right”) equivalent to cor- cor- + reg- (stem of regere “to keep straight, make straight, guide” ( see direct) + -tus past participle suffix; (adjective) from French correct, from Latin, as above
Explanation
When something is true, legitimate or right, you can say it's correct, using the word as an adjective. It can also be a verb; to correct wrong answers is to adjust them to make them right. The origin of correct can be found in the Latin word regere, "to guide," which became correctus as the past participle of corrigere, meaning "to straighten." When you correct your posture, you sit up straight. Sometimes when your cell phone tries to correct your spelling you can end up with some amusing sentences.
Vocabulary lists containing correct
Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 4-7
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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.
Had the 2025 claims proven correct, they would have overturned that landmark discovery and called into question nearly 30 years of cosmological research.
From Science Daily • Jun. 13, 2026
Election officials have said their numbers were always correct and that the discrepancy was based on a one-minute lag in vote updates for Pratt by The Associated Press, which also confirmed the lag.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2026
So if coordinated action by governments can’t correct these imbalances, will it take a crisis?
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
First, Justice Jackson said Barrett just read the statute wrong, which I think is correct.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
Sometimes the languages were correct, other times not.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
