- on or to the right side
- Turn right at the end of the street.
Definitions on the go
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- + adv./prep. exactly; directly
- Lee was standing right behind her.
- I'm right behind you on this one (= I am supporting you).
- The wind was right in our faces.
- The bus came right on time.
- The tour starts right here.
- + adv./prep. all the way; completely
- They drove right up to the door.
- Everything is planned right down to the last detail.
- The car spun right off the track.
- I'm right out of ideas.
- She kept right on swimming until she reached the other side.
- + adv./prep. immediately; without delay
- I'll be right back.
- They left right after lunch.
- She'll be right with you (= she is coming very soon).
- I knew right from the start what was going to happen.
- correctly
- You guessed right.
- They make sure everything is done right.
- It's vital for children to eat right and stay fit.
- in the way that things should happen or are supposed to happen; in a way that is morally good
- Nothing's going right for me today.
- You did right to tell me about it.
Which Word? right / rightlyright / rightlyopposite wrong- Right and rightly can both be used as adverbs. In the sense ‘correctly’ or ‘in the right way’, right is the usual adverb. It is only used after verbs:
- He did it right.
- Did I spell your name right?
- Is your name spelled correctly?
- The usual meaning of rightly is ‘for a good reason’ and it comes before an adjective:
- They are rightly proud of their children.
- As you rightly say, we have a serious problem.
not left
exactly
completely
immediately
correctly
in a good way
Word OriginOld English riht (adjective and noun), rihtan (verb), rihte (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Latin rectus ‘ruled’, from an Indo-European root denoting movement in a straight line.
Idioms
See right in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee right in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishhit somebody (straight/right) in the eye
- to be very obvious to somebody
it serves somebody right (for doing something)
- used to say that something that has happened to somebody is their own fault and they deserve it
- Left you, did she? It serves you right for being so selfish.
(right) out of the gate(s)
- (North American English, informal) right from the beginning of a situation or an activity
- The trouble began right out of the gate.
- The Democrats had a clear advantage out of the gate.
right and left
(also right, left and centre, left, right and centre)
- (informal) in all directions; everywhere
- She owes money right and left.
- He's giving away money right, left and centre.
right away/off
- immediately; without delay
- I want it sent right away.
- I told him right off what I thought of him.
right now
- at this moment
- He's not in the office right now.
- immediately
- Do it right now!
right off the bat
- (especially North American English, informal) immediately; without delay
- We both liked each other right off the bat.
- Foreign aid is one of the issues we have to deal with right off the bat.
see somebody right
- (informal) to make sure that somebody has all they need or want
- You needn't worry about money—I'll see you right.
take the words right out of somebody’s mouth
- to say what somebody else was going to say
- I was about to say we should cancel the trip, but she took the words right out of my mouth.
(right) up your street (especially British English)
(North American English usually (right) up your alley)
- (informal) very suitable for you because it is something that you know a lot about or are very interested in
- This job seems right up your street.
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right