Standard Lemma guide

err

intj · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɜː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ɛɚ/
  • US: /ɝ/
  • Scotland: /ɛr/
  • New-Zealand: /øː/
  • /eː/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger
  • /ɛː/ Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
  • /ɜː(ɹ)/ Lancashire, fair–fur merger
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)
  • rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)
  • homophone: (all non-US pronunciations, /ɝ/ US pronunciation:) er
  • homophone: (/ɛɚ/ US pronunciation, all fair–fur merger pronunciations:) air
  • homophone: are (“unit of measurement”)
  • homophone: ayr
  • homophone: Ayr
  • homophone: e'er
  • homophone: ere
  • homophone: eyre
  • homophone: heir
  • CMU ARPABET: EH1 R Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: ER1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

intj

Meaning 1

Elongated form of er (“sound of hesitation”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Err... what did you just say?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To make a mistake.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: formal, intransitive

Examples

  • He erred in his calculations, and made many mistakes.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To sin.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • To err is human, to forgive, divine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

to stray.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

to make a mistake or be incorrect

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mistake, slip

Antonyms: none provided

Narrower terms: misremember, stumble, slip up, trip up, misjudge, fall for

6

verb

Meaning 6

wander from a direct course or at random

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The child strayed from the path and her parents lost sight of her
  • don't drift from the set course

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stray, drift

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: travel, go, move, locomote

History

Etymology

From Middle English erren, from Old French errer (“to wander, err, mistake”), from Latin errō (“wander, stray, err, mistake”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *h1ers- (“to be angry, lose one's temper”). Cognate with Old English eorre, ierre (“anger, wrath, ire”), Old English iersian (“to be angry with, rage, irritate, provoke”), Old English ierre (“wandering, gone astray, confused”).

Across languages

Translations

121 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: غَلِطَ (ḡaliṭa) — make a mistake
  • Arabic: أَخْطَأَ (ʔaḵṭaʔa) — make a mistake
  • Arabic: غلط (ġeleṭ) — make a mistake
  • Armenian: սխալվել (sxalvel) — make a mistake
  • Bashkir: яңылышыу (yañılışıw) — make a mistake
  • Bashkir: хата ебәреү (xata yebərew) — make a mistake
  • Belarusian: памыля́цца (pamyljácca) — make a mistake
  • Belarusian: памылі́цца (pamylícca) — make a mistake
  • Belarusian: хі́біць (xíbicʹ) — make a mistake
  • Belarusian: схі́біць (sxíbicʹ) — make a mistake
  • Bulgarian: греша́ (grešá) — make a mistake
  • Bulgarian: заблужда́вам се (zabluždávam se) — make a mistake
  • Bulgarian: допу́скам гре́шка (dopúskam gréška) — make a mistake
  • Bulgarian: допу́сна гре́шка (dopúsna gréška) — make a mistake
  • Burmese: မှား (hma:) — make a mistake
  • Burmese: ချော်ချွတ် (hkyauhkywat) — make a mistake
  • Catalan: equivocar — make a mistake
  • Catalan: errar — make a mistake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 犯錯 /犯错 (fàncuò) — make a mistake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 做錯 /做错 (zuòcuò) — make a mistake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 走眼 (zǒuyǎn) — make a mistake
  • Czech: chybovat — make a mistake
  • Czech: chybit — make a mistake
  • Czech: mýlit se — make a mistake
  • Danish: fejle — make a mistake
  • Dutch: een fout maken — make a mistake
  • Dutch: een vergissing maken — make a mistake
  • Dutch: zich vergissen — make a mistake
  • Dutch: dwalen — make a mistake
  • Esperanto: erari — make a mistake
  • Finnish: erehtyä — make a mistake
  • Finnish: tehdä virhe — make a mistake
  • Finnish: mokata — make a mistake
  • Finnish: tyriä — make a mistake
  • Finnish: haksahtaa — make a mistake
  • Finnish: kämmätä — make a mistake
  • Finnish: munata — make a mistake
  • Finnish: möhlätä — make a mistake
  • Finnish: töpätä — make a mistake
  • French: se tromper — make a mistake
  • French: errer — make a mistake
  • Gagauz: yanılmaa — make a mistake
  • Gagauz: pişiklemää — make a mistake
  • Gagauz: pişik yapmaa — make a mistake
  • German: irren — make a mistake
  • German: sich irren — make a mistake
  • German: Fehler machen — make a mistake
  • Hebrew: שגה (shagá) — make a mistake
  • Hindi: ग़लती करना (ġaltī karnā) — make a mistake
  • Hungarian: téved — make a mistake
  • Ido: erorar — make a mistake
  • Italian: errare — make a mistake
  • Italian: sbagliare — make a mistake
  • Japanese: 間違える (machigaeru) — make a mistake
  • Kazakh: қателесу (qatelesu) — make a mistake
  • Kazakh: жаңылу (jañylu) — make a mistake
  • Kazakh: жаңылысу (jañylysu) — make a mistake
  • Khmer: ភាន់ (phŏən) — make a mistake
  • Korean: 잘못하다 (jalmothada) — make a mistake
  • Korean: 틀리다 (teullida) — make a mistake
  • Kyrgyz: жаңылуу (jaŋıluu) — make a mistake
  • Kyrgyz: жаңылышуу (jaŋılışuu) — make a mistake
  • Ladino: yerrar — make a mistake
  • Latin: errō — make a mistake
  • Macedonian: греши (greši) — make a mistake
  • Macedonian: погреши (pogreši) — make a mistake
  • Manchu: ᡝᠨᡩᡝᠮᠪᡳ (endembi) — make a mistake
  • Mwotlap: higap — make a mistake
  • Occitan: s'enganar — make a mistake
  • Occitan: errar — make a mistake
  • Persian: اشتباه کردن (eštebâh kardan) — make a mistake
  • Persian: خطا کردن (xatâ kardan) — make a mistake
  • Polish: mylić się — make a mistake
  • Polish: pomylić się — make a mistake
  • Polish: popełniać błąd — make a mistake
  • Polish: popełnić błąd — make a mistake
  • Polish: błądzić — make a mistake
  • Polish: zbłądzić — make a mistake
  • Portuguese: errar — make a mistake
  • Quechua: pantay — make a mistake
  • Romanian: greși — make a mistake
  • Romanian: se înșela — make a mistake
  • Russian: ошиба́ться (ošibátʹsja) — make a mistake
  • Russian: ошиби́ться (ošibítʹsja) — make a mistake
  • Russian: допуска́ть оши́бку (dopuskátʹ ošíbku) — make a mistake
  • Russian: допусти́ть оши́бку (dopustítʹ ošíbku) — make a mistake
  • Russian: заблужда́ться (zabluždátʹsja) — make a mistake
  • Sanskrit: स्रेधति (sredhati) — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: гре́шити — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: погре́шити — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: грије́шити — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: погрије́шити — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: gréšiti — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: pogréšiti — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: grijéšiti — make a mistake
  • Serbo-Croatian: pogrijéšiti — make a mistake
  • Sicilian: sbagghiari — make a mistake
  • Slovak: mýliť sa — make a mistake
  • Slovene: motiti se — make a mistake
  • Slovene: zmotiti se — make a mistake
  • Spanish: errar — make a mistake
  • Spanish: equivocarse — make a mistake
  • Spanish: marrar — make a mistake
  • Swedish: fela — make a mistake
  • Swedish: göra misstag — make a mistake
  • Tajik: иштибоҳ кардан (ištiboh kardan) — make a mistake
  • Tajik: хато кардан (xato kardan) — make a mistake
  • Thai: ทําผิด (tam-pìt) — make a mistake
  • Turkish: yanılmak — make a mistake
  • Turkish: hata yapmak — make a mistake
  • Turkish: yanlış yapmak — make a mistake
  • Old Anatolian Turkish: آزمق (azmaq) — make a mistake
  • Old Anatolian Turkish: یازمق (yazmaq) — make a mistake
  • Ukrainian: помиля́тися (pomyljátysja) — make a mistake
  • Ukrainian: помили́тися (pomylýtysja) — make a mistake
  • Urdu: غلطی کرنا (ġaltī karnā) — make a mistake
  • Uzbek: yanglishmoq — make a mistake
  • Uzbek: adashmoq — make a mistake
  • Uzbek: xato qilmoq — make a mistake
  • Vietnamese: phạm lỗi — make a mistake
  • Volapük: pölön — make a mistake