Err

//ɜː// intj, verb

intj, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make a mistake. formal, intransitive

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

  2. 2
    to make a mistake or be incorrect wordnet
  3. 3
    To sin. intransitive

    "To err is human, to forgive, divine."

  4. 4
    wander from a direct course or at random wordnet
  5. 5
    to stray. archaic
Intj
  1. 1
    Elongated form of er (“sound of hesitation”).

    "Err... what did you just say?"

Example

More examples

"To err is human, to forgive divine."

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”).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.