correct
verb/kəˈrekt/
/kəˈrekt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they correct | /kəˈrekt/ /kəˈrekt/ |
| he / she / it corrects | /kəˈrekts/ /kəˈrekts/ |
| past simple corrected | /kəˈrektɪd/ /kəˈrektɪd/ |
| past participle corrected | /kəˈrektɪd/ /kəˈrektɪd/ |
| -ing form correcting | /kəˈrektɪŋ/ /kəˈrektɪŋ/ |
- to make something right or accurate, for example by changing it or removing mistakes
- correct something to correct an error
- Read through your work and correct any mistakes that you find.
- I thought we had corrected the problem.
- Their eyesight can be corrected in just a few minutes by the use of a laser.
- They issued a statement correcting the one they had made earlier.
- correct yourself He stopped and corrected himself. ‘I mean fifteen, not fifty.’
- correct something for something The data were corrected for differences in age.
Extra Examples- At this stage you should be able to correct at least some of your own mistakes.
- I'd like to correct the impression that my client has any kind of criminal record.
- Minor problems with eyesight can now be corrected in a few seconds.
- They issued a statement correcting what they had said earlier.
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- correct something (of a teacher) to mark the mistakes in a piece of work (and sometimes give a mark to the work)
- I spent all evening correcting essays.
Extra Examples- It's simply not true that teachers no longer correct bad spellings.
- When I've corrected your assignments, I want you to write them out again.
- to tell somebody that they have made a mistake
- correct somebody Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this last year's brochure?
- Yes, you're right—I stand corrected (= I accept that I made a mistake).
- correct somebody + speech ‘It's Yates, not Wates,’ she corrected him.
- ‘She's his girlfriend.’ ‘His sister,’ Ian corrected.
Express Yourself Correcting yourselfCorrecting yourselfWhen you say something that was not quite what you intended, you can correct yourself in various ways:- I'll be there at five fifteen, I mean five fifty—ten to six.
- It'll be Tuesday—sorry, I meant to say Thursday.
- Sorry, what I mean is, we need two handouts per person.
- We can meet in the conference centre—or rather in front of the centre.
- The painter—or should I say, the sculptor—was born in Padua.
- It's one t and double s—no, sorry, one s and double t.
- It's on the fifth floor—no, actually, it's the fourth.
- Can I get two lattes and an espresso—no, scratch that—three lattes?
- There are three items on tonight's agenda. Correction, four items.
Word OriginMiddle English (as a verb): from Latin correct- ‘made straight, amended’, from the verb corrigere, from cor- ‘together’ + regere ‘guide’. The adjective is via French.
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