error

[ er-er ]
See synonyms for: errorerrorserrorless on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a deviation from accuracy or correctness; a mistake, as in action or speech: His speech contained several factual errors.

  2. belief in something untrue; the holding of mistaken opinions.

  1. the condition of believing what is not true: in error about the date.

  2. a moral offense; wrongdoing; sin.

  3. Baseball. a misplay that enables a base runner to reach base safely or advance a base, or a batter to have a turn at bat prolonged, as the dropping of a ball batted in the air, the fumbling of a batted or thrown ball, or the throwing of a wild ball, but not including a passed ball or wild pitch.

  4. Mathematics. the difference between the observed or approximately determined value and the true value of a quantity.

  5. Law.

    • a mistake in a matter of fact or law in a case tried in a court of record.

  6. Philately. a stamp distinguished by an error or errors in design, engraving, selection of inks, or setting up of the printing apparatus.: Compare freak1 (def. 5), variety (def. 7).

Origin of error

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English errour, from Latin errōr-, stem of error, equivalent to err + -or1

synonym study For error

1. See mistake.

Other words for error

Other words from error

  • er·ror·less, adjective
  • er·ror·less·ly, adverb

Words Nearby error

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use error in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for error

error

/ (ˈɛrə) /


noun
  1. a mistake or inaccuracy, as in action or speech: a typing error

  2. an incorrect belief or wrong judgment

  1. the condition of deviating from accuracy or correctness, as in belief, action, or speech: he was in error about the train times

  2. deviation from a moral standard; wrongdoing: he saw the error of his ways

  3. maths statistics a measure of the difference between some quantity and an approximation to or estimate of it, often expressed as a percentage: an error of 5%

  4. statistics See type I error, type II error

Origin of error

1
C13: from Latin, from errāre to err

Derived forms of error

  • error-free, adjective

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with error

error

see comedy of errors; trial and error.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.