err

American  

[ur, er] / ɜr, ɛr /

verb (used without object)

• errs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• erred,
  past participle,  past
• erring
  present participle

1. to go astray in thought or belief; be mistaken; be incorrect.

2. to go astray morally; sin.

   To err is human.

   Synonyms:

   lapse, transgress

3. Archaic. to deviate from the true course, aim, or purpose.

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idioms

1. err on the side of caution. see err on the side of caution.

err British  

/ ɜː /

verb

1. to make a mistake; be incorrect

2. to stray from the right course or accepted standards; sin

3. to act with bias, esp favourable bias

   to err on the side of justice

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• errability
  noun
• errable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• erring
  present
• erred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• err
  simple
• errs
  simple
• have erred
  perfect
• has erred
  perfect
• am erring
  progressive
• are erring
  progressive
• is erring
  progressive
• have been erring
  perfect progressive
• has been erring
  perfect progressive

Past

• erred
  simple
• had erred
  perfect
• was erring
  progressive
• were erring
  progressive
• had been erring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will err
  simple
• will have erred
  perfect
• will be erring
  progressive
• will have been erring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of err

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English erren, from Old French errer, from Latin errāre “to make a mistake; wander”; akin to Gothic airzjan, Old High German irrôn ( German irren )

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Explanation

When you err, you make a mistake or do something wrong. When a newspaper reporter errs in a printed story, the paper often prints a correction the next day. By itself, err, which shares a Latin root with error, is a formal way to say "mess up." The proverb "To err is human, to forgive divine" is an old-fashioned version of "Hey, everyone makes mistakes. Why don't you be the bigger person and let it go?" Err can also mean to go in a certain direction, as in another common saying, "Err on the side of caution," or "Play it safe."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

err errs erred erring

But that’s also a good reason to err on the side of being more conservative.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

If I err, and I do, my legs sometimes itch so fiercely they feel on fire and I break out in hives.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Perhaps ominously, but to err on the side of caution, Yellowstone’s Volcano Alert Level is raised from “normal” to “advisory,” indicating that unrest is above its established background level.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

He tells staff to err on the side of public messaging: “You should be defaulting to doing this.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

I don’t know if it still hurts people’s feelings at that age to be thought of as older, but it’s better to err on the side of caution.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

The trial generated a national sensation, and Ms. Aptowicz effectively re-creates the courtroom drama, though she errs in implying that Hanway’s lawyers strategically chose not to put him on the stand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

“In other words, by design, SPD errs on the side of overestimating any disparity for analytic purposes,” according to a recent “Outcome Measures Update” filed in federal court in conjunction with the OIG assessment.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024

No matter how aspirational the beginning, when a startup succeeds, it eventually reaches a crossroads and inevitably errs on the side of profits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2023

"The school errs on the side of pressing charges," Mefford said.

From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2022

“Me returns eighteen barks; eighteen errs makes burnt.”

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Patterson claims she suffered several counts of "substantial miscarriage of justice" because the trial judge erred in deciding what evidence could be presented.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that a trial judge had erred by excluding the plaintiffs’ expert medical witnesses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

“While Joe was in office, I think he and I both erred on the side of silence, dignity and letting news cycles run their course,” she writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

The three judges also found that the original judge had erred by not deeming Tickle's removal from the app based on Grover's "first visual review" of the profile picture as direct discrimination.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

“Is it possible that I have erred in my supposition?”

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Pushing off before the lights go out results in heavy penalties or even disqualification and that led to many of the sliders erring on the side of caution with some hesitant starts.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

However, during the meeting some members of the governing council said there “could be a case for erring on the dovish side.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

“We should be erring on the side of doing too much, not doing too little.”

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 17, 2026

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the team were erring on the side of caution in their handling of Wembanyama's calf problem.

From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025

Evy and Katie tried to be mad at their erring sister but she was so good to them that they couldn’t hold out against her.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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