correct definition

English correct definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈɹɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cor‧rect
• Rhymes: -ɛkt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French correct, from Latin correctus (“improved, amended, correct”), past participle of corrigere, conrigere (“to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct”), from com- (“together”) + combining form of regō, regere (“I rule, make straight”).

Adjective

correct (comparative more correct, superlative most correct)

1. Free from error; true; accurate; astute.

   Your test was completely correct, you get 10 out of 10

   We all agreed they'd made the correct decision.

2. With good manners; well behaved; conforming with accepted standards of behaviour.

Synonyms

• (free from error): right
• (with good manners): well-mannered, well behaved
• astute

Antonyms

• (without error): incorrect, inaccurate
• (with good manners): uncouth

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

correct

1. Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.

   Synonym: OK

Noun

correct (plural corrects)

1. A correct response.
   • 2013, Julie Vargas, Behavior Analysis for Effective Teaching:

     Having each day's rates of corrects and incorrects written next to the graph also makes it easier for you to check the […] If you also have students count problems incorrect, calling them “not yets,” or “learning opportunities,” or […]

Etymology 2

From Middle English correcten, borrowed from Anglo-Norman correcter, from Latin correctus.

Verb

correct (third-person singular simple present corrects, present participle correcting, simple past and past participle corrected)

1. (transitive) To make something that was wrong become right; to remove error from.

   You'll need to correct your posture if you're going to be a professional dancer.

   The navigator corrected the course of the ship.

   • 2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 27:

     Her millions of adoring fans had yet to hear her speak, and when she finally did, she sounded more like a sailor than a starlet, spewing a profanity-laced, G-dropping Brooklynese that no amount of dialect coaching could correct.

2. (by extension, transitive) To grade (examination papers).

   The teacher stayed up all night correcting exams.

3. (transitive) To inform (someone) of their error.

   It's rude to correct your parents.

4. (transitive) To discipline; to punish.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:repair

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• “correct”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “correct”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “correct”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Dutch correct definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French correct, from Latin corrēctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔˈrɛkt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cor‧rect
• Rhymes: -ɛkt

Adjective

correct (comparative correcter, superlative correctst)

1. correct

Inflection

Inflection of correct
uninflected	correct
inflected	correcte
comparative	correcter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		correct	correcter	het correctst het correctste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	correcte	correctere	correctste
	n. sing.	correct	correcter	correctste
	plural	correcte	correctere	correctste
definite		correcte	correctere	correctste
partitive		corrects	correcters	—

Synonyms

• juist

Derived terms

• correctheid
• incorrect

Descendants

• → Indonesian: korèk
• → Papiamentu: korèkt

French correct definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin correctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.ʁɛkt/, /ko.ʁɛkt/
• (Quebec, informal) IPA^(key): /kɔ.ʁɛk/

Adjective

correct (feminine correcte, masculine plural corrects, feminine plural correctes)

1. correct, right

   Votre réponse est correcte. ― Your answer is correct.

2. (colloquial) passable, okay

   Le restaurant auquel nous sommes allés était correct, sans plus. ― The restaurant we went to was okay, but nothing more.

3. (Quebec, colloquial) OK, fine, alright

   J’suis tellement désolé! T’es correct? ― I'm so sorry! You OK?

   Ouais, c’est correct. ― Yeah, it's fine.

Derived terms

• correctement
• politiquement correct

Related terms

• correctif
• correction
• corriger
• incorrect
• incorrectement

Further reading

• “correct”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.