English Explanatory Dictionary

error

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The state, quality, or condition of being wrong.
  2. A mistake; an accidental wrong action or a false statement not made deliberately.
  3. Sin; transgression.
  4. A failure to complete a task, usually involving a premature termination.
  5. The difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one.
  6. A play which is scored as having been made incorrectly.
  7. One or more mistakes in a trial that could be grounds for review of the judgement.
  8. Any alteration in the DNA chemical structure occurring during DNA replication, recombination or repairing.
  9. An unintentional deviation from the inherent rules of a language variety made by a second language learner.
verb
  1. To function improperly due to an error, especially accompanied by error message.
  2. To show or contain an error or fault.
  3. To err.

Pronunciation

ĕrʹə /ˈɛɹə/ ĕrʹər /ˈɛɹəɹ/ /ˈeɹəɹ/ /ɛəɹ/ En-us-error.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-error.wav

Word forms

error errors errour erroring errored

Etymology

From Middle English errour, from Anglo-Norman errour, borrowed from Old French error, from Latin error (“wandering about”, noun), derived from the verb errō (“to wander, to err”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌶𐌴𐌹 (airzei, “error”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (airzjan, “to lead astray”). More at err. By surface analysis, err + -or (suffix forming nouns of quality, state, or condition).

Synonyms

aberration bloomer blooper blunder boner boo-boo break clanger cock-up error fault faux pas floater flub fluff fuckup gaffe goof howler inaccuracy lapse lapsus mess-up misstep mistake oopsy screwup slip slip-up slipup stumble thinko wrength solecism erroneity wrong wrongness wrongfulness delinquency misdoing crime delict malfeasance misdeed misdemeanor offense peccadillo sin tort tortfeasance transgression veniality wrongdoing err

Related words

err errant erroneous erroneously mis- false defect :Category:English terms prefixed with mis- Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class IV § 495. Error Appendix:Moby Thesaurus II/27 § error does not compute unerring

Derived words

alpha error beta error bioerror category error comedy of errors en error bar error box error carried forward error catastrophe error code error correct error correction error diffusion error fare errorfree error-free errorful error function error handler error handling error in judgement error in judgment errorist errorless error message error of judgement error of judgment error of the first kind error of the second kind errorous error-prone error-proneness errorproof error-ridden errorsome error treatment fatal system error fencepost error forced error human error in error ironic error logic error margin of error non-error off-by-one error Othello error plaintiff in error probable error refractive error relative error rounding error the error of one's ways standard error stop error suberror trial and error type I error type II error
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on E Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary