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error message

British  

noun

  1. a message displayed on a visual display unit, printout, etc, indicating that an incorrect instruction has been given to the computer

"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

Example Sentences

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Posting the link on Facebook now triggers an error message saying: “Posts that look like spam according to our Community Guidelines are blocked on Facebook and can’t be edited.”

From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026

Several fans said they were shown an error message as they tried to play it - something that often happens with big new releases on streaming platforms.

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026

But the website kept returning an error message.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025

The Morrisons website also appears to be down, with a "502 bad gateway" error message on some pages.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2024

There was a flashing error message, and he tapped it repeatedly to no effect.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

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