error

err·or
E1R1R1O1R1
US, UK/ˈɛɹə(ɹ)//ˈɛəɹəɹ//ɛəɹ/

noun

The state, quality, or condition of being wrong.

“I've finally seen the error of my ways.”

Similar
wrengthwrongwrongnesswrongfulnessblunderflubgaffestumble
OriginMiddle English errour ← Anglo-Norman errour ← Old French error →
Very commonScrabble 5
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounerror (countable and uncountable, plural errors)

plural errors · alternative obsolete errour

  1. uncountableThe state, quality, or condition of being wrong.

    "Am I in error in marking out the s in the word assistants used in the following manner?[…]"

    1913, The Inland Printer

    Synonyms: wrength, wrong, wrongness, wrongfulness

  2. countableA mistake; an accidental wrong action or a false statement not made deliberately.

    There was a large error in the accounts.

    2 more examples

    Chris Brunt sliced the spot-kick well wide but his error was soon forgotten as Olsson headed home from a corner.

    2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2011

    "Well over 400 trains and thousands of passengers from across the South were disrupted by this single error of judgement," said Network Rail's Route Director for Sussex, Katie Frost.

    2022 December 14, “Network News: HGV driver banned after Coulsdon bridge crash”, in RAIL, number 972, page 7

    Synonyms: blunder, flub, gaffe, stumble

  3. countableuncountableSin; transgression.

    I've finally seen the error of my ways.

    Synonyms: delinquency, misdoing, wrong, crime, delict, delinquency, malfeasance, misdeed

  4. countablecomputingA failure to complete a task, usually involving a premature termination.
  5. countablemathematicsThe difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one.
  6. countableball gamesA play which is scored as having been made incorrectly.
  7. uncountableOne or more mistakes in a trial that could be grounds for review of the judgement.
  8. countableuncountableAny alteration in the DNA chemical structure occurring during DNA replication, recombination or repairing.
  9. countableuncountablehuman sciencesAn unintentional deviation from the inherent rules of a language variety made by a second language learner.
verberror (third-person singular simple present errors, present participle erroring, simple past and past participle errored)

present singular third person errors · participle present erroring · participle past errored · past errored · alternative obsolete errour

  1. computingTo function improperly due to an error, especially accompanied by error message.

    The web-page took a long time to load and errored out.

    2 more examples

    Remove that line of code and the script should stop erroring there.

    This directory errors with a "Permission denied" message.

  2. communicationsTo show or contain an error or fault.

    The block transmission errored near the start and could not be received.

  3. nonstandardTo err.

    Many other celebrities errored in the political comments area...

    2002 May, Sylvain Beauregard, Passion Celine Dion the Book: The Ultimate Guide for the Fan!, Trafford Publishing
    3 more examples

    Pixels which are mathematically outside of a triangle, but which are included for anti-aliasing purposes can be generated with colour and depth information outside of the valid range. The ADE should identify these cases and clamp the output to the minimum or maximum value depending on the direction it has errored in.

    1993 December, Arie Kaufman, editor, Rendering, Visualization, and Rasterization Hardware, Springer-Verlag New York LLC

    By doing so examiners are erroring in the direction of drawing hypotheses based on greater evidence of reliability and validity.

    2000 December, Randy W. Kamphaus, Clinical Assessment of Child And Adolescent Intelligence, Allyn & Bacon

    Error is not just permitted by diversity; it is what permits diversity.... The beetle had “errored” beautifully

    2001 November, Daniel D. Dancer, Shards and Circles: Artistic Adventures in Spirit and Ecology, Trafford Publishing

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe state, quality, or condition of being wrong.

Similar
wrengthwrongwrongnesswrongfulness

nounA mistake; an accidental wrong action or a false statement not made deliberately.

Similar
blunderflubgaffestumble

nounSin; transgression.

Similar
delinquencymisdoingwrongcrimedelictdelinquencymalfeasancemisdeedmisdemeanormisdoingoffensepeccadillosintorttortfeasancetransgressionvenialityvillainywrong
Similar
aberrationbloomerblooperbonerboo-boobreakclangercock-updisadventurefaultfaux pasfloaterflufffuckupgoofhowlerinaccuracylapselapsusmess-upmisadventuremisstepmistakeoopsyscrewupslipslip-upslipupthinkosolecismerroneity
Narrower
absolute errorapproximation errorclerical errorcompass errorconjunctive errorcumulative errorfirm errorhard errormeasurement errorobservational errorround-off errorsampling errorschoolboy errorseparative errorsoft errorsyntax errortransmission errortypographical errorunforced errorincorrect argumentbarbarismfumblemisargumentmiscalculationmisconceptionmisspellingmispronunciationmisstatementscannospellotypo
Similar
err

More synonyms by meaning

nouna wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention

Similar
mistakefault
Broader
nonaccomplishmentnonachievement

nouninadvertent incorrectness

Similar
erroneousness
Broader
incorrectnesswrongness

nouna misconception resulting from incorrect information

Similar
erroneous belief
Broader
misconception

noun(baseball) a failure of a defensive player to make an out when normal play would have sufficed

Similar
misplay
Broader
failure

noundeparture from what is ethically acceptable

Similar
wrongdoing
Broader
evilevilness

noun(computer science) the occurrence of an incorrect result produced by a computer

Similar
computer error
Broader
happeningoccurrenceoccurrent

nounpart of a statement that is not correct

Similar
mistake
Broader
misstatement
Also see
bloomerblooperboo-boocock-upcrimedelinquencyerroneousnessfaultfaux pasfloaterflufffuckupgaffegoofinaccuracylapselapsuslulumalefactionmalfeasancemess-upmisappreciationmisdeedmisdemeanormisdoingmisplaymisstepmisstrikemistakemuck-upoffensepeccadilloperpetrationscrewupsinslipslip-upsolecismstumbletorttortfeasancetransgressiontripvenialitywrongwrongdoing

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinerror“wandering about”
  2. Old Frencherror
  3. Anglo-Normanerrour
  4. Middle Englisherrour
  5. Englisherror

From Middle English errour, from Anglo-Norman errour, borrowed from Old French error, from Latin error (“wandering about”, noun), derived from the verb errō (“to wander, to err”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌶𐌴𐌹 (airzei, “error”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (airzjan, “to lead astray”). More at err. By surface analysis, err + -or (suffix forming nouns of quality, state, or condition). Displaced native Old English dwild (“error”).

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans fout, fout
  • foutcomputing: failure to complete task
  • foutstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • afwykingstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • foutmistake — see also mistake
Arabic خَطَأ, غَلْطَة
  • خَطَأ (ḵaṭaʔ)mistake — see also mistake
  • غَلْطَة (ḡalṭa)mistake — see also mistake
  • غَلَط (ḡalaṭ)mistake — see also mistake
Basque akats, errore
  • akatsmistake — see also mistake
  • erroremistake — see also mistake
Bengali ভুল
  • ভুল (bhul)mistake — see also mistake
Bulgarian гре́шка, отклоне́ние
  • гре́шка (gréška)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • отклоне́ние (otklonénie)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • гре́шка (gréška)mistake — see also mistake
  • пока́звам гре́шка (pokázvam gréška)To show an error
  • съдържам грешка (sădăržam greška)to cause or contain an error
Catalan error, errada
  • errormistake — see also mistake
  • erradamistake — see also mistake
Chinese Cantonese 錯誤 /错误
  • 錯誤 /错误 (co³ ng⁶)mistake — see also mistake
Chinese Mandarin 誤差 /误差, 誤審 /误审
  • 誤差 /误差 (wùchā)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • 誤審 /误审 (wù-shěn)appellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • 錯誤 /错误 (cuòwù)mistake — see also mistake
  • 失誤 /失误 (shīwù)mistake — see also mistake
Czech chyba, pochybení
  • chybastatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • pochybeníappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • chybamistake — see also mistake
  • omylmistake — see also mistake
Danish afvigelse, fejl
  • afvigelsestatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • fejlappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • fejlmistake — see also mistake
  • fejltagelsemistake — see also mistake
  • forseelsemistake — see also mistake
Dutch fout, afwijking
  • foutstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • afwijkingstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • procedurefoutappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • foutmistake — see also mistake
  • vergissingmistake — see also mistake
  • onjuistheidmistake — see also mistake
Esperanto eraro, eraro
  • erarocomputing: failure to complete task
  • eraromistake — see also mistake
  • misomistake — see also mistake
Estonian viga
  • vigamistake — see also mistake
Finnish virhe, virhe
  • virhecomputing: failure to complete task
  • virhestatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • virhebaseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • erehdysappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • geenivirheany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • virheany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • erehdysmistake — see also mistake
  • virhemistake — see also mistake
  • näyttää virheTo show an error
  • sisältää virheto cause or contain an error
  • aiheuttaa virheto cause or contain an error
  • vikaantuato cause or contain an error
French erreur, vice
  • erreurstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • viceappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • erreurany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • erreurmistake — see also mistake
  • être en erreurTo show an error
  • planterto cause or contain an error
  • foirerto cause or contain an error
German Fehler, Irrtum
  • Fehlerstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • Irrtumappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • Fehlermistake — see also mistake
  • aussteigenTo show an error
  • abbrechenTo show an error
  • fehlschlagento cause or contain an error
  • misslingento cause or contain an error
Greek σφάλμα, σφάλμα
  • σφάλμα (sfálma)computing: failure to complete task
  • σφάλμα (sfálma)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • λάθος (láthos)mistake — see also mistake
  • σφάλμα (sfálma)mistake — see also mistake
Hebrew שְׁגִיאָה, טָעוּת
  • שְׁגִיאָה (shgi'á)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • טָעוּת (ta'út)mistake — see also mistake
  • שְׁגִיאָה (shgi'á)mistake — see also mistake
Hindi त्रुटि, ग़लती
  • त्रुटि (truṭi)mistake — see also mistake
  • ग़लती (ġaltī)mistake — see also mistake
  • भूल (bhūl)mistake — see also mistake
Hungarian hiba
  • hibamistake — see also mistake
Icelandic skekkja, villa
  • skekkjastatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • villabaseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • villamistake — see also mistake
  • skyssamistake — see also mistake
Indonesian kesalahan
  • kesalahanmistake — see also mistake
Irish botún, dearmad
  • botúnmistake — see also mistake
  • dearmadmistake — see also mistake
  • earráidmistake — see also mistake
  • iomrallmistake — see also mistake
  • déan earráidTo show an error
Italian errore, errore
  • errorestatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • errorebaseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • vizioappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • erroreany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • erroremistake — see also mistake
  • sbagliomistake — see also mistake
  • mostrare un erroreTo show an error
  • mostrare erroriTo show an error
  • causare un erroreto cause or contain an error
  • contenere un erroreto cause or contain an error
  • causare errorito cause or contain an error
  • contenere errorito cause or contain an error
Japanese 誤差, 失策
  • 誤差 (gosa)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • 失策 (shissaku)baseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • エラー (erā)baseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • 誤り (ayamari)mistake — see also mistake
  • 間違い (machigai)mistake — see also mistake
  • エラー (erā)mistake — see also mistake
Korean 오차, 실책
  • 오차 (ocha)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • 실책 (silchaek)baseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • 에러 (ereo)baseball: play which is scored as having been made incorrectly
  • 실수 (silsu)mistake — see also mistake
  • 에러 (ereo)mistake — see also mistake
  • 오류 (oryu)mistake — see also mistake
Latin error
  • errormistake — see also mistake
Latvian novirze, kļūda
  • novirzestatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • kļūdamistake — see also mistake
Lithuanian paklaida, klaida
  • paklaidastatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • klaidamistake — see also mistake
Malay ralat, ralat
  • ralatstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • ralatmistake — see also mistake
  • kesalahanmistake — see also mistake
Norwegian Bokmål feil
  • feilmistake — see also mistake
Polish błąd pomiaru, błąd
  • błąd pomiarustatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • błądmistake — see also mistake
  • pomyłkamistake — see also mistake
  • omyłkamistake — see also mistake
  • pokazywać błądTo show an error
  • pokazać błądTo show an error
  • sprawiać błądto cause or contain an error
  • sprawić błądto cause or contain an error
Portuguese erro, erro
  • errocomputing: failure to complete task
  • errostatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • erroany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • erromistake — see also mistake
  • dar erroTo show an error
Romanian eroare
  • eroaremistake — see also mistake
Russian погре́шность, отклоне́ние
  • погре́шность (pogréšnostʹ)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • отклоне́ние (otklonénije)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • оши́бка (ošíbka)mistake — see also mistake
Scottish Gaelic mearachd, iomrall
  • mearachdmistake — see also mistake
  • iomrallmistake — see also mistake
Slovak chyba, pochybenie
  • chybastatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • pochybenieappellate law: one or more mistakes in a trial
  • chybamistake — see also mistake
  • vyhadzovať chybuTo show an error
Spanish error, error
  • errorstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • errorany alteration in the DNA chemical structure
  • errormistake — see also mistake
  • yerromistake — see also mistake
  • trabacuentamistake — see also mistake
Swahili kasoro
  • kasoromistake — see also mistake
Swedish fel, upptäcka fel
  • felmistake — see also mistake
  • upptäcka felTo show an error
  • orsaka felto cause or contain an error
Tagalog kamalian, mali
  • kamalianstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • malistatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • malimistake — see also mistake
Tamil தப்பு, தவறு
  • தப்பு (tappu)mistake — see also mistake
  • தவறு (tavaṟu)mistake — see also mistake
  • பிழை (piḻai)mistake — see also mistake
Thai ค่าผิดพลาด, ข้อผิดพลาด
  • ค่าผิดพลาดstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • ข้อผิดพลาด (kɔ̂ɔ-pìt-plâat)mistake — see also mistake
  • ความผิดพลาด (kwaam-pìt-plâat)mistake — see also mistake
Turkish yanlış, hata
  • yanlışmistake — see also mistake
  • hatamistake — see also mistake
  • yanılgımistake — see also mistake
Ukrainian погрі́шність, о́гріх
  • погрі́шність (pohríšnistʹ)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • о́гріх (óhrix)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • відхи́лення (vidxýlennja)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • по́хибка (póxybka)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • хи́ба (xýba)statistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • поми́лка (pomýlka)mistake — see also mistake
  • хи́ба (xýba)mistake — see also mistake
Urdu غَلَطی, خَطا
  • غَلَطی (ġalatī)mistake — see also mistake
  • خَطا (xatā)mistake — see also mistake
  • بُھول (bhūl)mistake — see also mistake
Vietnamese sai số, lỗi
  • sai sốstatistics: difference between a measured or calculated value and a true one
  • lỗimistake — see also mistake
Welsh gwall, camgymeriad
  • gwallmistake — see also mistake
  • camgymeriadmistake — see also mistake
Yiddish טעות, גרײַז
  • טעות (toes)mistake — see also mistake
  • גרײַז (grayz)mistake — see also mistake
  • פֿעלער (feler)mistake — see also mistake

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with error

terror
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

eraaire'erereheirerreraaire'erereheirerr

Anagrams

Rorer
Cite this entry
APA

error. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/error

MLA

“error.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/error. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “error,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/error.

Source: error on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.