err

[ ur, er ]

/ ɜr, ɛr /

verb (used without object)

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

to go astray morally; sin: To err is human.

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

Nearby words

erotomania, erotopathy, erotophobia, erp, erpf, err, errancy, errand, errand boy, errant, errantry

Origin of err

1275–1325; Middle English erren < Old French errer < Latin errāre; akin to Gothic airzjan, Old High German irrôn, German irren

SYNONYMS FOR err

2 transgress, lapse.

Related forms

err·a·bil·i·ty, nounerr·a·ble, adjective

Can be confused

air e'er ere err heirer err Ur

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for errs

Murray also errs in reducing educational attainment and professional success solely to genetic endowment.
Charles Murray’s ‘Coming Apart’ and the Culture Myth|Ralph Richard Banks|February 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Kaplan errs in not taking Sinatra, the actor, seriously enough.
Sinatra's Unstoppable Voice|Allen Barra|December 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Apart from certain odd features in Crozet's narrative, it may be remarked that he errs in making the Maoris act quite causelessly.
The Long White Cloud|William Pember Reeves
Yet, if a fault may be hinted, it errs like his cigar on the side of exaggeration.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10|Various

Yet what a vast amount of criticism there is in the world which errs (like Dr. Johnson) from sheer ignorance.
Interludes|Horace Smith
Flagg errs in saying that Jolliet published an account of his adventures.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, v. 27|Various
He mentions that country as producing musk, but errs widely in placing it only four days' journey from Samarkand.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 71, No. 437, March 1852|Various

British Dictionary definitions for errs

err

/ (ɜː) /

verb (intr)

to make a mistake; be incorrect

to stray from the right course or accepted standards; sin

to act with bias, esp favourable biasto err on the side of justice

Word Origin for err

C14: erren to wander, stray, from Old French errer, from Latin errāre

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