# right

Pronunciation: say "RYT" /ˈɹaɪt/

## Adjective

1. Complying with justice, correctness or reason; correct, just or true.
   - Simple: Correct, true or fair, the way it should be.
   - _You were right to refuse._
   - _Is this the right answer?_
2. On or toward the side of the body that is to the east when one faces north, as in the right hand or a right turn.
   - Simple: On or toward the side of your body where most people hold a pen, as in your right hand.
   - _The door is on the right side of the hall._
   - _He writes with his right hand._
5. Suited to the purpose or occasion in every way; fitting or proper.
   - Simple: Exactly suitable for what you need or want to do.
   - _She said the right thing at the right time._
   - _Is this the right bus for the station?_
12. Belonging to or associated with the conservative side of politics.
   - Simple: In politics, conservative, or supporting conservative parties and ideas.
   - _On immigration the party is now further right than at any time since the war._
   - _Suburban voters saw the new candidate as too far right for their taste._
16. In geometry, forming an angle of 90 degrees, or of a figure or solid, containing such an angle or having its axis at 90 degrees to its base.
   - Simple: In geometry, making a square corner of 90 degrees, as in a right angle or a right triangle.
   - _A square has four right angles._
   - _Check that the corner is a true right angle._
18. In good health, sane or competent.
   - Simple: Healthy or sane, in phrases like in one's right mind.
   - _She was not quite right after the fever._
   - _Give him a day and he'll be right again._
24. Real or veritable, used for emphasis. *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: Real or complete, used to make what you say stronger.
   - _She's a right pain when she's tired._
   - _That was a right waste of an afternoon._
25. Meant to face outward when placed or worn, as the finished side of a fabric is.
   - Simple: Made to face out when you use or wear it, like the front side of cloth.
   - _Pin the two panels with their right sides together before stitching the seam._
   - _Iron the shirt on the inside so the right side keeps its sheen._
27. Doing fine and not in need of any help, as in a polite answer to an offer of assistance. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: Fine, and not needing any help from anyone.
   - _"Want me to grab you a coffee while I'm out?" "Nah, I'm right, mate."_
   - _A staff member wandered over and asked whether we were right or needed help finding anything._

## Noun

3. Something a person is entitled to have or do, whether under the law or on grounds of fairness or morality.
   - Simple: Something you are allowed to have or do by law or fairness.
   - _Workers won the right to strike._
   - _The new law protects the right of tenants to stay in their homes._
7. The side or direction opposite to the left.
   - Simple: The side opposite the left, or the direction toward it.
   - _From the right came the sound of drums._
   - _Americans drive on the right._
11. The authorization needed to publish, stage, broadcast, or film a given work or event; a copyright.
   - Simple: The legal power to publish, film or sell a work.
   - _Translation rights were sold in twelve countries._
   - _The theater company finally secured the right to stage the musical next spring._
14. Conservative political parties, or political conservatives as a group.
   - Simple: In politics, conservative parties and people as a group.
   - _The right split over the budget._
   - _Both the left and the right claimed the victory._
15. What is just, lawful, or reasonable, as opposed to what is wrong.
   - Simple: What is fair, just or correct.
   - _Children learn right from wrong at home._
   - _Might does not make right._
21. The right hand or fist.
   - Simple: The hand on the side opposite the left, or a punch made with it.
   - _He leads with his left and finishes with his right._
   - _Her right is stronger than her left._

## Adverb

4. Immediately or directly.
   - Simple: At once, or directly with no time or space in between.
   - _I'll be right back._
   - _Call me right after the interview and tell me how it went._
6. Exactly or precisely.
   - Simple: Exactly, at the very place or time.
   - _The clock stopped right at midnight._
   - _The bus stops right outside our front door every morning._
8. On or toward the right side.
   - Simple: On the right side, or in the direction of the right.
   - _Turn right at the second traffic light and the station is on your left._
   - _Keep right, pass left, the sign said._
10. In a correct manner.
   - Simple: In the way it should be done, without mistakes.
   - _Did I spell your name right?_
   - _The engine isn't running right._
17. To a high degree, much as very is used, especially before an adjective. *(dialectal, UK, US)*
   - Simple: Very, or to a great degree.
   - _She was right proud of her prize-winning tomatoes._
   - _We were right glad of the fire after the long walk home._
20. In truth or in actual fact; genuinely.
   - Simple: Truly or really, used this way in some local kinds of English.
   - _It's a long drive, all right, but the view is worth it._
   - _I can't right say where he went after the fair._
26. Completely, all the way to the farthest end, edge, or limit of something, typically before through, across, or up to.
   - Simple: All the way to the end or edge of something, used before words like "through," "across," or "up to."
   - _The new trail runs right across the state, from the river to the mountains._
   - _She worked right up to the day before her baby was born._

## Interjection

13. Used to say yes, to agree or confirm that something is correct, or simply to show that one has heard what was said.
   - Simple: Used to say yes, to agree, or to show you have heard what someone said.
   - _Right, that's what I thought._
   - _"You're Anna's brother, aren't you?" "Right, we met at her wedding."_
9. Used at the end of a statement, or of each part of one, to check that the listener is following and especially agreeing.
   - Simple: Used at the end of a sentence to check that someone agrees or is following.
   - _We said eight o'clock, right?_
   - _So she tells me, right, that she never got the letter._
19. Used at the start of a remark to get attention, show that one is ready to act, or move on to a new subject.
   - Simple: Said at the start of what you say to show you are ready to do something or talk about something new.
   - _Right, that's it, I'm leaving._
   - _Right, here we go._

## Verb

22. To correct something that is wrong or unjust, or to give justice to someone who has been wronged.
   - Simple: To fix a mistake or an unfair situation, or to get justice for someone treated badly.
   - _The court was asked to right an old injustice._
   - _The mistake was righted in the next edition._
23. To bring something back to an upright position, or to return to an upright position by itself.
   - Simple: To make something stand up straight again after it has fallen over, or to come back up by itself.
   - _It took four of us to right the wardrobe._
   - _The capsized canoe was righted in seconds._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a river bank, lying on the side to a person's right as they look downstream, in the direction the water flows.
- (adjective) Best suited or most convenient, lucky.
- (adjective) Not curved or crooked, as in a straight line.
- (adjective) Having to do with right whales, a group of large baleen whales.
- (noun) The front or finished face of something such as a coin, fabric, or carpet, meant to be seen.
- (noun) In surfing, a wave whose break travels to the surfer's right, which looks like right to left from the beach.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 5, 12, 16, 18, 24–25, 27** — From Middle English right, from Old English riht, reht, which meant 'right' as well as 'straight' and 'direct'. It comes from Proto-Germanic *rehtaz and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃reǵ- ('to straighten, direct'), and is related to Dutch recht, German recht, and Latin rēctus.
**Meanings 4, 6, 8–10, 13, 17, 19–20, 26** — Proto-Germanic *rehtaz ('right, straight') gave *rehta, which became Old English rihte, rehte, with senses such as 'right', 'rightly', 'due', 'directly', and 'straight'. That form led to Middle English right.
**Meanings 3, 7, 11, 14–15, 21** — The Proto-Indo-European root *h₃reǵ- ('to straighten, direct') led to Proto-Germanic *rehtą ('a right') and then to Old English riht, reht, ġeriht, meaning what is right, just, or proper, which became Middle English right. Dutch recht and German Recht ('a right') are related.
**Meanings 22–23** — Proto-Germanic *rihtijaną ('to straighten, rectify, judge') gave Old English rihtan, ġerihtan, which meant to straighten, judge, set upright, or set right. These became the Middle English verb righten.

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