correction

[kuh-rek-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR correction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that is substituted or proposed for what is wrong or inaccurate; emendation.

punishment intended to reform, improve, or rehabilitate; chastisement; reproof.

Usually corrections. the various methods, as incarceration, parole, and probation, by which society deals with convicted offenders.

a quantity applied or other adjustment made in order to increase accuracy, as in the use of an instrument or the solution of a problem: A five degree correction will put the ship on course.

a reversal of the trend of stock prices, especially temporarily, as after a sharp advance or decline in the previous trading sessions.

Origin of correction

1300–50; Middle English correccio(u)n (< Anglo-French) < Latin corrēctiōn- (stem of corrēctiō) a setting straight. See correct, -ion

Related formsnon·cor·rec·tion, nounpre·cor·rec·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for correction

amendment, repair, emendation, mending, reparation, indemnification, alteration, improvement, redress, amelioration, modification, rectification, revisal, castigation, chastisement, admonition, rod, reformation, reproof, punishment

Examples from the Web for correction

Contemporary Examples of correction

Correction: Officer Jose Rodriguez was misidentified in several places in an earlier version of this story.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos
Michael Daly
December 28, 2014
Correction: An earlier version of this article said John Lewis attended the event, not Elijah Cummings.
Capitol Hill's Black Staffers Walk Out to Say ‘Hands Up, Don't Shoot!’
Tim Mak
December 11, 2014
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that ISIS has been known to use the application FireChat.
ISIS Keeps Getting Better at Dodging U.S. Spies
Shane Harris, Noah Shachtman
November 14, 2014
Correction: The original article stated that Starboard Strategic Inc. had undertaken the Internet media buy for the NRA.
A Tom Cotton Ad on Grindr?
Ben Jacobs
October 29, 2014
He ordered his secretary to reimburse the fees and will issue a correction to his political funds reports.
‘Whip it!’ Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s Cabinet Of Horrors
Jake Adelstein
October 24, 2014

Historical Examples of correction

It is by the Priests that silence is enjoined, and with the power of correction the Priests are then invested.
Tacitus on Germany
Tacitus
Were the thongs for the correction of persons lacking understanding?
The Scapegoat
Hall Caine
Tompkins turned and looked at me, but never noticed my correction.
Melomaniacs
James Huneker
Mackenzie accepted the correction with a nod of understanding, sparing his words.
The Flockmaster of Poison Creek
George W. Ogden
The former were frequently in use for the correction of drunkards.
Bygone Punishments
William Andrews

British Dictionary definitions for correction

correction

noun

the act or process of correcting

something offered or substituted for an error; an improvement

the act or process of punishing; reproof

a number or quantity added to or subtracted from a scientific or mathematical calculation or observation to increase its accuracy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for correction

mid-14c., "action of correcting," from Old French correccion (13c.) "correction, amendment; punishment, rebuke," from Latin correctionem (nominative correctio), noun of action from past participle stem of corrigere (see correct (v.)). Meaning "chastisement" is from late 14c. Meaning "an instance of correction" is from 1520s. House of correction was in a royal statute from 1575.