Correct

How to spell correct

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce correct

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does correct mean?

1. adjectiveFree from error; in accordance with fact or the accepted standard.
2. verbTo put right by removing errors or faults.

Correct in a sentence

• adjective

  Only one of the four answers on the form was correct.

• verb

  The teacher took an hour to correct the marked essays.

• adjective

  The bank confirmed that the account number was correct.

• verb

  Please correct the typo before the report goes to print.

Where does correct come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin corrigere, meaning 'to make straight' or 'to set right', formed from the prefix com- (here used as an intensifier and written cor- before an r) joined to regere, which literally meant 'to lead straight' or 'to rule'. The same regere root gives us a whole family of related words, including 'direct', 'regular', and 'rector', all carrying the underlying idea of straightness or guidance. English took the word over through Old French in the 1300s, at first as a verb meaning to put right faults or errors, and the adjective sense of 'free from mistakes' grew naturally out of that. The double r in the spelling is a direct fossil of the cor- assimilation, where com- shifted to match the following r, and remembering that intensive prefix is the surest way to keep both r's in place. The hard c sound before the e in -rect, rather than a soft one, is a useful reminder that the ending traces back to Latin rectus, meaning 'straight' or 'upright'.

How the word is built

• cor- (from com-: together, intensive)
• rect (from regere: to lead straight, to rule)
• (verb/adjective from past participle correctus)