# correct

Pronunciation: say "kuh-REKT" /kəˈɹɛkt/

## Adjective

1. Free from error; in agreement with the truth or an accepted standard.
   - Simple: Having no mistakes and matching what is true or right.
   - _The teacher confirmed that his calculation was correct._
   - _Only one of the four options is correct._
5. Showing good manners and behaving in line with accepted social standards.
   - Simple: Behaving in a polite way that follows the rules people expect.
   - _His manners were correct, even a little stiff, throughout the ceremony._
   - _The ambassador remained correct and courteous despite the insult._

## Verb

2. To remove the errors from something so that it becomes right.
   - Simple: To fix something that has mistakes so it becomes right.
   - _She corrected the spelling errors throughout the document._
   - _Good proofreaders correct factual slips as well as typos._
3. To point out to someone that they have made an error.
   - Simple: To tell someone that they have made a mistake.
   - _He corrected the reporter who had misquoted the mayor._
   - _I hate to correct you, but the meeting is on Tuesday._
6. To grade examination papers, marking the errors and assigning a score.
   - Simple: To check and mark exam papers to give them a score.
   - _He spent the weekend correcting final exams._
   - _Teachers correct the papers and return them within a week._
7. To discipline or punish someone in order to improve their conduct.
   - Simple: To punish someone in order to improve their behavior.
   - _In those days, masters would correct servants for the slightest fault._
   - _She corrected the boy firmly for his rudeness._

## Interjection

4. Said in reply to confirm that what was just stated is right or accepted.
   - Simple: Said to show that you agree or that an answer is right.
   - _"So the deadline is Friday?" "Correct."_
   - _"The capital is Lisbon, right?" "Correct, you've got it."_

## Adverb

8. In a manner free from error; accurately and rightly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In a way that is right and has no mistakes.
   - _She answered every question correct on the first try._
   - _If I remember correct, the store closes at nine._

## Noun

9. A response that is right; an answer free from error.
   - Simple: A right answer, one that has no mistakes.
   - _In the reading drill, the teacher charts each child's corrects per minute on a graph._
   - _Her corrects went up every week as she practiced her math facts at home._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–5, 8–9** — Borrowed from French correct, from Latin correctus ("improved, amended, correct"), the past participle of corrigere ("to make straight, make right, improve"), formed from con- ("together") plus a form of regere ("to rule, make straight").
**Meanings 2–3, 6–7** — Latin correctus gave Anglo-Norman correcter, and Middle English borrowed that as correcten.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/correct (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).