ERR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does err mean? 

• ERR (verb)
  The verb ERR has 2 senses:

1. to make a mistake or be incorrect

2. wander from a direct course or at random

  Familiarity information: ERR used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ERR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they err    ... he / she / it errs   
Past simple: erred   
Past participle: erred   
-ing form: erring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To make a mistake or be incorrect

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

err; mistake; slip

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "err"):

misremember (remember incorrectly)

slip up; stumble; trip up (make an error)

misjudge (judge incorrectly)

fall for (be deceived, duped, or entrapped by)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

errancy (fallibility as indicated by erring or a tendency to err)

error (a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention)

error (inadvertent incorrectness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Wander from a direct course or at random

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

drift; err; stray

Context example:

don't drift from the set course

Hypernyms (to "err" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

cast; drift; ramble; range; roam; roll; rove; stray; swan; tramp; vagabond; wander (move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

errant (uncontrolled motion that is irregular or unpredictable)

 Context examples 

Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre; remorse is the poison of life.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I am not saying that she did not err in her advice.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

"Now, there you err," was the smiling rejoinder.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Not meeting any sufficient response, he went on:—Is it possible that I have erred in my supposition?

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Watch yourself, be the first to ask pardon if you both err, and guard against the little piques, misunderstandings, and hasty words that often pave the way for bitter sorrow and regret.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

You have erred in supposing him not attached to her.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

“The maid's words have done me no scath. It is you yourself who have erred.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Her brother's recommendation was enough to ensure her favour; his judgement could not err.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Despite these findings, researchers suggest that people err on the side of caution and not consume meat from game animals that appear ill or thin, or are confirmed carriers of CWD.

(Study finds no chronic wasting disease transmissibility in macaques, National Institutes of Health)

"I'll have you arrested, the pair of you, you b-b-big brutes," sobbed the erring soul.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)