err
err Lexical Profile
err Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To be mistaken or incorrect; to make an error in judgment or action.
"The appellate court ruled that the trial judge had erred in admitting the disputed evidence."
To deviate from an accepted moral standard; to sin or go astray.
"The parable reminds listeners to show mercy toward those who have erred and seek forgiveness."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although traditionally pronounced to rhyme with 'her' (/ɜːr/), the spelling pronunciation that rhymes with 'air' (/ɛər/), influenced by 'error', has become widespread in modern American English. In contemporary usage, the verb is most frequently encountered in the idiom 'to err on the side of' (meaning to lean toward a particular approach, such as caution) and the proverb 'to err is human.'
• Rhymes for err
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French errer, from Latin errare ('to wander, go astray, make a mistake'), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to move or wander.'