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correction

[kuh-rek-shuh n]
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noun
  1. something that is substituted or proposed for what is wrong or inaccurate; emendation.
  2. the act of correcting.
  3. punishment intended to reform, improve, or rehabilitate; chastisement; reproof.
  4. Usually corrections. the various methods, as incarceration, parole, and probation, by which society deals with convicted offenders.
  5. 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.
  6. a reversal of the trend of stock prices, especially temporarily, as after a sharp advance or decline in the previous trading sessions.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for correction

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It is by the Priests that silence is enjoined, and with the power of correction the Priests are then invested.

  • 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 former were frequently in use for the correction of drunkards.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

British Dictionary definitions for correction

correction

noun
  1. the act or process of correcting
  2. something offered or substituted for an error; an improvement
  3. the act or process of punishing; reproof
  4. a number or quantity added to or subtracted from a scientific or mathematical calculation or observation to increase its accuracy
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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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper