err

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err

be mistaken or incorrect; to go astray morally; sin; transgress: To err is human.

Not to be confused with:

air – the atmosphere: The air is fresher in the mountains.; expose: air grievances; a tune: She hummed an air.

heir – one who inherits an estate: Her nephew is her only heir.

err

(ĕr, ûr)

intr.v. erred, err·ing, errs

1. To make an error or misjudgment: I erred in turning onto the dead-end street.

2. To commit an act that is wrong; do wrong.

3. Archaic To stray.

[Middle English erren, from Old French errer, from Latin errāre, to wander; see ers- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

err

(ɜː)

vb (intr)

1. to make a mistake; be incorrect

2. to stray from the right course or accepted standards; sin

3. to act with bias, esp favourable bias: to err on the side of justice.

[C14: erren to wander, stray, from Old French errer, from Latin errāre]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

err

(ɜr, ɛr)

v.i.

1. to go astray in thought or belief; be mistaken or incorrect.

2. to go astray morally; sin.

3. Archaic. to deviate from the true course or purpose.

[1275–1325; Middle English < Old French errer < Latin errāre; akin to Old High German irrōn, Gothic airzjan]

err`a•bil′i•ty, n.

err′a•ble, adj.

err

Past participle: erred
Gerund: erring

Imperative
err
err

Present
I err
you err
he/she/it errs
we err
you err
they err

Preterite
I erred
you erred
he/she/it erred
we erred
you erred
they erred

Present Continuous
I am erring
you are erring
he/she/it is erring
we are erring
you are erring
they are erring

Present Perfect
I have erred
you have erred
he/she/it has erred
we have erred
you have erred
they have erred

Past Continuous
I was erring
you were erring
he/she/it was erring
we were erring
you were erring
they were erring

Past Perfect
I had erred
you had erred
he/she/it had erred
we had erred
you had erred
they had erred

Future
I will err
you will err
he/she/it will err
we will err
you will err
they will err

Future Perfect
I will have erred
you will have erred
he/she/it will have erred
we will have erred
you will have erred
they will have erred

Future Continuous
I will be erring
you will be erring
he/she/it will be erring
we will be erring
you will be erring
they will be erring

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been erring
you have been erring
he/she/it has been erring
we have been erring
you have been erring
they have been erring

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been erring
you will have been erring
he/she/it will have been erring
we will have been erring
you will have been erring
they will have been erring

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been erring
you had been erring
he/she/it had been erring
we had been erring
you had been erring
they had been erring

Conditional
I would err
you would err
he/she/it would err
we would err
you would err
they would err

Past Conditional
I would have erred
you would have erred
he/she/it would have erred
we would have erred
you would have erred
they would have erred

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

err - to make a mistake or be incorrect

misremember - remember incorrectly; "I misremembered the date"

fall for - be deceived, duped, or entrapped by; "He fell for her charms"; "He fell for the con man's story"

err - wander from a direct course or at random; "The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her"; "don't drift from the set course"

go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"

rove, stray, roam, vagabond, wander, swan, ramble, range, drift, tramp, cast, roll - move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment; "The gypsies roamed the woods"; "roving vagabonds"; "the wandering Jew"; "The cattle roam across the prairie"; "the laborers drift from one town to the next"; "They rolled from town to town"

err

verb

1. make a mistake, mistake, go wrong, blunder, slip up (informal), misjudge, be incorrect, be inaccurate, miscalculate, go astray, be in error, put your foot in it (informal), misapprehend, blot your copybook (informal), drop a brick or clanger (informal) The contractors seriously erred in their original estimates.

2. sin, fall, offend, lapse, trespass, do wrong, deviate, misbehave, go astray, transgress, be out of order, blot your copybook (informal) If he errs again, he will be severely punished.

Quotations
"To err is human, to forgive divine" [Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

err

verb

1. To make an error or mistake:

2. To violate a moral or divine law:

3. Archaic. To turn away from a prescribed course of action or conduct:

Translations

يُخْطِئ

chybovatmýlit

begå fejlfejle

téved

skjátlast, hafa rangt fyrir sér

klystiklysti ką nors darant

kļūdīties

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

err

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

err

(əː) verb

to make a mistake; to be wrong; to do wrong.

err on the side of

to be guilty of what might be seen as a fault in order to avoid an opposite and greater fault. It is better to err on the side of leniency when punishing a child .