Meaning & use
err
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Meanings
verbintransitiveformal
To make a mistake or be wrong in a judgment or action.
Grammar: No object; often followed by on the side of: err on the side of caution.
Patterns
- err on the side of something
Even experts can err when the data is unclear.
The referee erred in awarding the penalty.
To err is human, as the saying goes.
verbintransitive
To choose a safer or more generous option when you are unsure.
Grammar: Used in the idiom err on the side of caution.
Patterns
- err on the side of caution
When in doubt, err on the side of caution.
The teacher erred on the side of kindness.
I would err on the side of leaving early.
verbintransitivearchaicreligion
To go wrong in morals; to sin or stray from a right path.
Grammar: Dated or religious in tone: to err from the path.
Patterns
- err from something
He confessed that he had erred and sinned.
The child who errs should be gently corrected.
Word forms
| third person singular | errs |
|---|---|
| past tense | erred |
| past participle | erred |
| -ing form | erring |
Common combinations
- err on the side of caution
- Doctors often err on the side of caution.
- err on the side of generosity
- She erred on the side of generosity with the tip.
- err in judgment
- The committee erred in its judgment.
- to err is human
- To err is human, so forgive yourself.
- err badly
- The forecast erred badly on the timing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blunder
- Blunder suggests a clumsy, often embarrassing mistake, while err is quieter and more formal.
- slip up
- Slip up is a casual phrasal verb for a small mistake.
- misjudge
- Misjudge is specific to getting an assessment wrong, whereas err covers any error.
- go wrong
- Go wrong is general and informal, and it can describe things as well as people.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: err or air? err or er?
err vs air
Air is what we breathe and sounds the same in many accents, though err is a verb meaning to make a mistake.
err vs er
Er is a hesitation sound people make while speaking, spelled differently from the verb.
Practice
The nurse decided to ___ on the side of caution and called the doctor.
Choose one answer.
Err on the side of caution is the fixed idiom. Air, ear and are sound similar or look similar but do not make sense in the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “err”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.