correction

American  

[kuh-rek-shuhn] / kəˈrɛk ʃən /

noun

• corrections
  plural

1. something that is substituted or proposed for what is wrong or inaccurate; emendation.

2. the act of correcting.

3. punishment intended to reform, improve, or rehabilitate; chastisement; reproof.

4. Usually corrections. the various methods, as incarceration, parole, and probation, by which society deals with convicted offenders.

5. a quantity applied or other adjustment made in order to increase accuracy, as in the use of an instrument or the solution of a problem.

   A five degree correction will put the ship on course.

6. a reversal of the trend of stock prices, especially temporarily, as after a sharp advance or decline in the previous trading sessions.

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correction British  

/ kəˈrɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of correcting

2. something offered or substituted for an error; an improvement

3. the act or process of punishing; reproof

4. a number or quantity added to or subtracted from a scientific or mathematical calculation or observation to increase its accuracy

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Usage

What is a correction? A correction is something substituted for something that is wrong or inaccurate, such as when a newspaper issues a correction to a story it got wrong. A correction is also an adjustment or addition to something to make it more accurate, as when you make a steering correction while driving to ensure you are in the center of your lane. A correction is also a punishment that is meant to help you reform or improve. This is the type of correction connected with prisons, also called correctional facilities. Example: We are applying a correction to the story after it came out that one of the sources was lying.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncorrection
  noun
• precorrection
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• corrections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of correction

1300–50; Middle English correccio ( u ) n (< Anglo-French ) < Latin corrēctiōn- (stem of corrēctiō ) a setting straight. See correct, -ion

Explanation

When you fix a mistake, you make a correction, a change that rights a wrong. When you correct a misspelled word, you’ve made a correction. Well done! Correction also applies to punishment, which is another way to right a wrong. A correction is an improvement or a revision when there's something that needs to be fixed. Newspapers issue corrections for previously printed errors, and a poorly written law might get the correction it needs after voters choose to amend it. Sometimes correction is also used to mean "punishment or discipline," and a correction or correctional facility is another word for jail. Correction can also mean "a drop in the value of a stock that was artificially high."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

correction corrections

Traverso said that any "correction in transfer values" or "slowdown in buyer demand" could have serious implications for any club carrying debt.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

That means it’s already in a correction, or at least a 10% decline from its peak.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

Roman used far less fuel than expected during its first course correction, carried additional propellant at launch, and is projected to conserve even more during its second mid-course correction and orbital insertion.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

The scholar’s obligation is therefore not to proclaim truth, but to report evidence honestly, acknowledge uncertainty and remain open to correction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Pai either failed to hear or chose to ignore the correction.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Bruce Davis, who was Charles Manson’s so-called “right-hand man,” died in a California prison hospital late last week at the age of 83, corrections officials said Monday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

She directed core participants to provide any corrections to errors or omissions by no later than 31 December.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Mission controllers will carry out the first of two course corrections, and Roman's Coronagraph Instrument will be switched on.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Mark Zuckerberg built Facebook on a “move fast and break things” motto that allowed for course corrections after missteps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

As soon as Winston had dealt with each of the messages, he clipped his speakwritten corrections to the appropriate copy of the Times and pushed them into the pneumatic tube.

From "1984" by George Orwell