Correction

How to spell correction

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce correction

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does correction mean?

1. nounA change made to fix an error or to set something right.
2. nounA short, sharp fall in share or asset prices after a period of rising.

Correction in a sentence

• The teacher marked one small correction in red ink.

• Analysts warned that a market correction was overdue after months of gains.

• The editor sent back the draft with a single correction on page four.

• The fund lost value during the sudden correction in tech stocks.

Where does correction come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin correctio, a noun built on the verb corrigere, meaning 'to make straight' or 'to set right'. That verb joins the intensive prefix cor- (a form of com-, 'together' or 'thoroughly') with regere, 'to guide, rule, or keep straight', the same root that gives us 'direct', 'regent', and 'rectangle'. The original literal idea was of straightening something crooked, which gradually broadened into the modern sense of fixing an error or improving a fault. English took the word in during the 1300s by way of Old French correccion, then later realigned the spelling toward the Latin form with its doubled letters. That double c and the unstressed -ion ending are the spots where confident writers can still slip.

How the word is built

• cor- (from com-: together, intensive)
• rect (from regere: to guide, make straight)
• -ion (noun of action)