human error

American  

[hyoo-muhn er-er] / ˈhju mən ˈɛr ər /

noun

human errors plural

1. a mistake made by a human worker or the propensity of humans to make such mistakes, as opposed to the failure of mechanical or electronic systems or devices.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• human-error
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• human errors
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

human error

Most often these are industrial accidents, some process going awry, whether by fizzled technology or human error.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

"It is an inherent feature of screening programmes that false negative results will occur and some of these will be attributable to human error," he said.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

Once agents are allowed to take automated actions, which is what makes them so useful, it takes things out of the realm of human error.

From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026

There was no fraud, just human error — which would soon be publicly confirmed through a hand count of the county’s ballots.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026

“This is where human error creeps in,” Beryl says.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin