err

verb

ˈer  ˈər 

erred; erring; errs

intransitive verb

1

a

: to make a mistake

erred in his calculations

erred on the side of caution

b

: to violate an accepted standard of conduct

2

archaic : stray

Did you know?

Is it human to err?

Many people are familiar with the word err from encountering it in the epigram “to err is human; to forgive, divine.” This phrase is found in Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism, from 1711. Earlier expressions of the same sentiment exist, as in Thomas Jones’ 1678 book, Of the Heart, and its Right Soveraign, which contains the line “to err, is human, to recover, is Angelical; to persevere is Diabolical.”

Err is also often found in the phrase err on the side of caution, to suggest that being overly cautious is better than not being cautious enough.

Err stems from the Latin word errare, meaning “to stray, wander,” and it retained that meaning when it first entered English. We find the same Latin ancestor at the root of the words error, erratic, and erroneous.

Synonyms of err

• stumble
• fumble
• trip
• blunder

Examples of err in a Sentence

I may have erred in my calculations.

The court erred in refusing to allow bail.

Recent Examples on the Web

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals responded a few days later by ruling the FDA erred by relaxing its regulations to allow for dispensing the pills by mail. —Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026

Several doctors noted that OpenEvidence sometimes drew overly strong conclusions from medical studies with small sample sizes, though other clinicians noted even the system’s mistakes tended to err on the side of caution. —Jared Perlo, NBC news, 13 May 2026

The organization claimed Republicans rushed the process and erred in assigning the neighborhood’s voting precinct to two congressional districts. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 13 May 2026

Rogers argued that the commission erred in its findings, including by allegedly considering new evidence from Timeless in ways that were unfair to the process. —Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 12 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English erren "to wander, roam, deviate from righteousness or truth, make a mistake," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French errer "to hold mistaken beliefs, make a mistake," going back to Latin errāre "to wander, roam, drift, be in doubt or uncertainty, act in error, be mistaken," going back to pre-Latin *ers-āje-, going back to Indo-European *h₁ers-ah₂i̯e/o- (whence also Armenian eṙam "am restless, seethe"), presumably denominal from *h₁ers-o- or *h₁ers-ah₂; also from this base a series of derivatives in Germanic, as Old English ierre, eorre "gone astray, perverted, enraged," iersian "to be angry, rage," Old Saxon irre "misguided, angry," irron "to roam about," Old High German irri "wandering, confused,' irren "to lead astray," Gothic airzeis "deceived, in error," airzjan "to mislead"

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing err

• err on the side of
• err on the side of caution
• to err is human

Rhymes for err

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• eyre
• fair
• fare

Kids Definition

err

verb

ˈe(ə)r  ˈər 

1

: to make a mistake

erred in my calculations

2

: to do wrong : sin

Legal Definition

err

intransitive verb

ˈer, ˈər 

: to make an error

the court erred in denying the motion