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overcorrection

[oh-ver-kuh-rek-shuh n]
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noun
  1. correction beyond what is needed or customary, especially when leading to error; overadjustment: The pilot made an overcorrection for headwinds.
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Origin of overcorrection

First recorded in 1880–85; over- + correction
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for over-correction

Historical Examples

  • It was perhaps due in part to over-correction, when the context was forgotten and the subject had lost its freshness.

    Alexander Pope

    Leslie Stephen

  • Advancement of the tenotomized muscle should be performed if the over-correction be only discovered after the operation.

Word Origin and History for over-correction

n.

1828, from over- + correction.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
over-correction in Medicine

overcorrection

(ō′vər-kə-rĕk′shən)
n.
  1. An adjustment that surpasses a set criterion, especially of a desired behavior.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.