correction

American  

[kuh-rek-shuhn] / kəˈrɛk ʃən /

noun

• corrections
  plural

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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correction British  

/ kəˈrɛkʃən /

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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Usage

What is a correction? A correction is something substituted for something that is wrong or inaccurate, such as when a newspaper issues a correction to a story it got wrong. A correction is also an adjustment or addition to something to make it more accurate, as when you make a steering correction while driving to ensure you are in the center of your lane. A correction is also a punishment that is meant to help you reform or improve. This is the type of correction connected with prisons, also called correctional facilities. Example: We are applying a correction to the story after it came out that one of the sources was lying.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncorrection
  noun
• precorrection
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• corrections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of correction

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

Explanation

When you fix a mistake, you make a correction, a change that rights a wrong. When you correct a misspelled word, you’ve made a correction. Well done! Correction also applies to punishment, which is another way to right a wrong. A correction is an improvement or a revision when there's something that needs to be fixed. Newspapers issue corrections for previously printed errors, and a poorly written law might get the correction it needs after voters choose to amend it. Sometimes correction is also used to mean "punishment or discipline," and a correction or correctional facility is another word for jail. Correction can also mean "a drop in the value of a stock that was artificially high."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

correction corrections

However, a sharp correction is unlikely, with crude palm oil prices expected to stay above 4,000 ringgit a ton, she says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

“This correction is long overdue,” wrote chief executive Angela Wheeler.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Effectively, that correction — which many define as a decline of at least 10% to just shy of 20% — ended with a close above the 50-DMA.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Andrew Bailey said any collapse of growth in the AI sector could lead to a "future market correction" that spreads worldwide.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

But no one paid attention to my correction.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

She directed core participants to provide any corrections to errors or omissions by no later than 31 December.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

After making those corrections, the team developed a new method for reconstructing the glacier's internal ice in three dimensions using Bayesian statistics.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

The market recently produced a William O’Neil-style “follow-through day,” one of the signals I watch following corrections to determine whether institutional buyers are returning.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

The Vance press team contacted my editors to demand corrections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Using one of Kaz’s lockpicks and copper pyrite Jesper had extracted from the roof, Wylan traced his best imitation of the Menagerie feather on Nina’s arm, following Inej’s description and making corrections as needed.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo