errant
Americanadjective
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deviating from the regular or proper course; erring; straying.
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journeying or traveling, as a medieval knight in quest of adventure; roving adventurously.
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moving in an aimless or lightly changing manner.
an errant breeze.
adjective
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archaic wandering in search of adventure
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erring or straying from the right course or accepted standards
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of errant
1300–50; Middle English erraunt < Middle French, Old French errant, present participle of errer, edrer to travel < Vulgar Latin *iterāre to journey, for Late Latin itinerārī, derivative of iter, stem itiner- journey ( see itinerary); confused with Middle French errant, present participle of errer to err
Explanation
Something or someone described as errant has gone astray or done wrong by going in an unexpected direction. An errant bird might end up in northern Canada while his friends fly to southern Mexico for the winter. Although errant is commonly used as a synonym for "misbehaving" or "naughty," it also refers to things that are just out of place. An errant bomb can hit a house instead of an army base, and an errant lock of hair can get in your eyes. Errant can be intentional, as in "the errant boys skipped school to go to the movies," or unintentional, as in "an errant snowball hit your neighbor instead of your arch enemy."
Vocabulary lists containing errant
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Grade 12, List 1
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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.
He retained his seat in the House of Lords, as there was no mechanism to remove an errant peer.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Allan, who was 47 and toward the end of his second marriage by the time Steven was born, got annoyed by errant balls that Steven didn’t get in his plastic Little Tikes hoop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
At their lowest points, the creators we spoke to were not disrupted merely by the errant hostile comment.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
Adding to his three-week skid, during which Klein’s been fighting bad mechanics, he gave up three hits, made an errant pickoff attempt, issued a walk and hit Willson Contreras in the helmet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
And Boaz...What could Boaz possibly have to do with an errant sheyd on the NYU campus?
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
