SINCE 1828
right
adjective
\ ˈrīt
\
\
Definition of right
(Entry 1 of 4)
2
: being in accordance with what is just, good, or proper
right conduct
3
: conforming to facts or truth : correct
the right answer
4
: suitable, appropriate
the right man for the job
5
: straight
a right line
7a
: of, relating to, situated on, or being the side of the body which is away from the side on which the heart is mostly located
b
: located nearer to the right hand than to the left
c
: located to the right of an observer facing the object specified or directed as the right arm would point when raised out to the side
d(1)
: located on the right of an observer facing in the same direction as the object specified
stage right
(2)
: located on the right when facing downstream
the right bank of a river
e
: done with the right hand
a right hook to the jaw
8
: having the axis perpendicular to the base
right cone
9
: of, relating to, or constituting the principal or more prominent side of an object
made sure the socks were right side out
10
: acting or judging in accordance with truth or fact
time proved her right
11a
: being in good physical or mental health or order
not in his right mind
b
: being in a correct or proper state
put things right
13
often capitalized
: of, adhering to, or constituted by the Right especially in politics
right
nounDefinition of right (Entry 2 of 4)
1
: qualities (such as adherence to duty or obedience to lawful authority) that together constitute the ideal of moral propriety or merit moral approval
2
: something to which one has a just claim: such as
a
: the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled
voting rights his right to decide
b(1)
: the interest that one has in a piece of property
—often used in plural mineral rights
(2)
rights plural
: the property interest possessed under law or custom and agreement in an intangible thing especially of a literary and artistic nature
film rights of the novel
3
: something that one may properly claim as due
knowing the truth is her right
4
: the cause of truth or justice
b
: the location or direction of the right side
woods on his right
c
: the part on the right side
d
: right field
e
: a turn to the right
take a right at the stop sign
6a
: the true account or correct interpretation
b
: the quality or state of being factually correct
7 often capitalized
a
: the part of a legislative chamber located to the right of the presiding officer
b
: the members of a continental European legislative body occupying the right as a result of holding more conservative political views than other members
8a
often capitalized
: individuals professing support of the established order and favoring traditional attitudes and practices and conservative governmental policies
b
often capitalized
: a conservative position
9a
: a privilege given stockholders to subscribe pro rata to a new issue of securities generally below market price
b
: the negotiable certificate evidencing such privilege
—usually used in plural
by rights
or less commonly by all rights
in one's own right
of right
to rights
: with reason or justice : properly
: by virtue of one's own qualifications or properties
1
: as an absolute right
2
: legally or morally exactable
: into proper order
right
adverbDefinition of right (Entry 3 of 4)
1
: according to right
live right
2
: in the exact location, position, or moment : precisely
right at his fingertips quit right then and there
3
: in a suitable, proper, or desired manner
knew he wasn't doing it right
5
: according to fact or truth : truly
guessed right
6a
: all the way
windows right to the floor
b
: in a complete manner
felt right at home
7
: without delay : immediately
right after lunch
8
: to a great degree : very
a right pleasant day
9
: on or to the right
looked left and right
right
verb
righted;
righting;
rights
Definition of right (Entry 4 of 4)
1a
: to do justice to : redress the injuries of
so just is God to right the innocent— William Shakespeare
2
: avenge
vows to right the injustice done to his family
3a
: to adjust or restore to the proper state or condition
right the economy
b
: to bring or restore to an upright position
right a capsized boat
: to become upright
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Other Words from right
Adjective
rightness
noun
Noun
rightmost
\ ˈrīt-ˌmōst
\
adjective
\
adjective
Verb
righter
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for right
Synonyms: Adjective
accurate, authentic, exact, faithful, precise, strict, true, veracious
Synonyms: Noun
appanage (also apanage), birthright, prerogative
Synonyms: Adverb
due, exactly, full, just, precisely, sharp, smack-dab, squarely
Antonyms: Adjective
corrupt, corrupted, false, imprecise, inaccurate, inauthentic, inexact, loose, unfaithful
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Examples of right in a Sentence
Adjective
You can't treat me like this! It's not right! You were right to tell the teacher about the girl who you saw cheating. Telling the teacher was the right thing to do. “Is that clock right? Is it noon already?” “Yes. That's right.” There's something not quite right about his story. Their theory was proved right. Let me get this right—you want me to lend you $1,000?! You're right; the answer is six. I bet you like baseball. Am I right? Am I right in thinking that he should have never loaned her the money?Noun
We discussed the rights and wrongs of genetic cloning. women fighting for equal rights Knowing the truth is her right.Adverb
The keys are right where I said they would be. “Where are my keys?” “They're right here.” The bank is right next to the pharmacy. The parking lot is right in front of the building. He left his bags right in the middle of the floor. She was waiting right outside the door. The ball hit me right in the face. We arrived right at noon. You are right on time. When the boss yelled at him, he quit right then and there.Verb
It was time to right an old wrong. No one can right all the wrongs in the world. The government needs to do something to right the economy. They righted the capsized boat. He quickly righted himself after he fell off the chair.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The best spots are not necessarily right at downtown core. — Mosha Lundström Halbert, Vogue, "The Cool Girl’s Guide to Toronto," 27 Dec. 2018 Jackson is right behind him with 605 yards on the ground. — Rob Maaddi, The Seattle Times, "Lindsay heads the list of undrafted rookies making impact," 26 Dec. 2018 For the most part, Fir Tree was right about borrowers. — Ryan Dezember, WSJ, "A Hedge Fund Makes Billions Off Americans’ Underwater Mortgages," 25 Dec. 2018 Cuoco is absolutely right that a pregnancy or, in her case, a non-pregnancy is nobody's business but her own. — Abby Gardner, Glamour, "Kaley Cuoco Shuts Down Pregnancy Rumors (Again): 'Would You Say That to My Face?'," 21 Dec. 2018 No idea whether an AI device is right for your home? — Samantha Lefave, Woman's Day, "I Tried a Bunch of Holiday Features on Google's Home Hub and Life Has Never Felt More Manageable," 13 Dec. 2018 When all of those things come together, your home starts to feel right. — Lucia Tonelli, ELLE Decor, "Joanna Gaines’ New Book 'Homebody' Reminds Us Why There’s No Place Like Home," 8 Nov. 2018 Thanks to the research, the scientists have been proven right: The Dracula ant uses a completely novel method to snap its jaws shut. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The Dracula Ant's Lightning Mandibles Make It the Fastest Animal in the World," 12 Dec. 2018 Plus, weigh the pros and cons to see if cement counters are right for you. — Taysha Murtaugh, Country Living, "Concrete Countertops: Is the Home Trend All It's Cracked up to Be?," 12 Dec. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Yet another attempt from the right to turn an Indigenous person’s name into an insult didn’t go unnoticed. — Ruth Hopkins, Teen Vogue, "Sacagawea Changed the Course of History and Deserves Respect," 11 Jan. 2019 And of course, vote in the midterm elections on November 6 for candidates who have a record of supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. — Allure, "6 Ways to Support Transgender and Nonbinary People Right Now," 21 Oct. 2018 Eight months later, the year came to a close with Naomi Campbell, a runway royal in her own right, stomping down Moschino’s runway in New York for its H&M collaboration. — Vogue, "Vogue Editors on Their Favorite Runway Cameos of the Year," 30 Dec. 2018 Irineo Mujica shouting through a megaphone during a demonstration in April in favor of migrants' rights in the town of Matías Romero Avendaño in Mexico’s Oaxaca state. — Juan Montes, WSJ, "Caravan’s Stymied Passage Leaves Migrant Issue Boiling," 28 Dec. 2018 The terror can feel especially acute right after school shootings like the one in Parkland, Florida, when kids are inundated with details from massacres that have taken the lives of students just like them. — John Woodrow Cox, The Seattle Times, "Numerous school lockdowns are traumatizing the nation’s children," 26 Dec. 2018 Kate was very involved in the process, and was often sighted stopping in to local stores in search of the right piece, sometimes alongside another interior designer working on the project, Anne Allen. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Everything You Need to Know About Anmer Hall, Prince William and Kate Middleton's Country Home," 23 Dec. 2018 In the end, there’s no right or wrong way to go about an estrangement. — Ashley Edwards Walker, Good Housekeeping, "What Is Estrangement — And Should You Consider It?," 21 Dec. 2018 Though each of the 855’s subsystems has been improved in its own right, Qualcomm also made one significant, overall improvement: While the Snapdragon 845 was manufactured on a 10nm process, Qualcomm has made the leap to 7nm with the Snapdragon 855. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Meet Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855: AI boosts, a smarter camera, mobile gaming—and bye-bye, JPEG," 5 Dec. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
To do so violates students’ right to equal protection just as much as punishing the innocent. — WSJ, "DeVos Is Restoring Order to America’s Schools," 30 Dec. 2018 Chef’s Kiss Award In Houston, Johnston Marklee, MVVA, and Guy Nordenson Associates get the Menil Drawing Institute just right. — Mark Lamster, Curbed, "2018 in architecture: The good, the bad, and the urbanism," 27 Dec. 2018 Using a humidifier can help get the balance just right, by adding moisture back into very dry air. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, "The Best Humidifiers to Buy This Winter," 20 Dec. 2018 My interest is in getting things right, but also really trying to tell readers what is actually happening. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "ULA chief Tory Bruno on competing with Blue Origin, SpaceX rocket landings," 12 Dec. 2018 The idea that anyone Prince Harry married would just slot right in, making three a cosy four, and things would carry on exactly as before was always a little unrealistic. — Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, "Are Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle Really Feuding?," 3 Dec. 2018 Sediment core samples taken from ancient seabeds show a huge spike in radioactive particles right around the time when the megalodon disappeared. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "Exploding Stars Might Have Brought an End to the Prehistoric Megalodon," 14 Dec. 2018 In particular, the meibomian glands (which sit right at the eyelid margins) are responsible for producing a complex layer of lipids (fats) that helps prevent your tears from evaporating too quickly. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Are Eyelid Issues Causing Your Dry Eyes? Here's How to Tell," 14 Dec. 2018 Once the Christmas branch was up and running, the next step in right-sizing my holiday was to rummage through The Box and edit my hoard of lights, ornaments, decorations and ephemera. — Al Kemp, The Seattle Times, "How I came to grips with a downsized Christmas," 12 Dec. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
After Jake Lamb drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the first, Descalso turned on a 96-mph, 2-1 fastball from right-hander Luis Castillo, sending it out to right for his sixth homer of the year. — Nick Piecoro, azcentral, "Diamondbacks follow familiar script in win over Reds," 29 May 2018 From old merchandise clogging store inventory spaces, to retail shops that hire employees who know nothing about the instruments nor how to sell them, the longtime CEO has ideas on how the industry can right the ship. — Isaac Weeks, Billboard, "Gibson CEO Talks Challenges Facing Guitar Retail Industry: 'These Are Troubled Times'," 23 Feb. 2018 Morrison said nothing could be done to right the wrongs inflicted on children. — Trevor Marshallsea, Fox News, "PM formally apologizes to Australian child sex abuse victims," 22 Oct. 2018 John Deasy, followed by the relatively short stay of Ramon C. Cortines, who had come out of retirement to try to right the ship. — Howard Blume, latimes.com, "L.A. school board makes a bold, controversial choice in Beutner," 2 May 2018 There is a new generation of young voters coming in and an outstanding number of fearless women whose votes next month are going to help right the currently failing course of history this great nation is straying on. — Azadeh Valanejad, Glamour, "Sen. Lindsey Graham's Racist and Islamophobic Comment About Iran Re-Traumatized Me," 22 Oct. 2018 Bobby Hurley’s team will have to defend the interior to right the ship. — Dan Greene, SI.com, "For These 12 Teams, February's Results Are Crucial to NCAA Tournament Outlook," 29 Jan. 2018 The Pistons have only had one playoff appearance in the last nine seasons, but Gores believes Casey may be the person to right the ship. — George Stoia, Detroit Free Press, "Pistons introduce Dwane Casey as head coach: 'We have to win'," 20 June 2018 So, what happened within the last dozen years to right this franchise ship? — Sam Ferguson, Ars Technica, "A dozen years after near-death, Star Trek’s future may be stronger than ever," 19 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'right.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
10 Word Histories from the U.S. Congress
10 Word Histories from the U.S. Congress
Whips, beans, hoppers, and more
Dictionary Entries near right
Statistics for right
Last Updated
31 Dec 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for right
The first known use of right was before the 12th century
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More Definitions for right
right
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of right
(Entry 1 of 4)
: morally or socially correct or acceptable
: agreeing with the facts or truth : accurate or correct
: speaking, acting, or judging in a way that agrees with the facts or truth
right
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of right (Entry 2 of 4)
: behavior that is morally good or correct
: something that a person is or should be morally or legally allowed to have, get, or do
rights : the legal authority to reproduce, publish, broadcast, or sell something
right
adverbEnglish Language Learners Definition of right (Entry 3 of 4)
: in the exact location, position, or moment that is mentioned
: in a direct course or manner
: in a way that agrees with the facts or truth
right
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of right (Entry 4 of 4)
: to make (something) right : to correct (something wrong or unjust)
: to return (something) to a proper state or condition
: to put (something or someone) back in an upright position
See the full definition for right in the English Language Learners Dictionary
right
adjective
\ ˈrīt
\
\
Kids Definition of right
(Entry 1 of 4)
1
: following or in accordance with what is just, good, or proper
It's not right to lie.
3
: suitable, appropriate
He's the right person for the job.
4
: located on the side of the body away from the heart
the right arm
5
: located nearer to the right side of the body than to the left
the chair's right arm
6
: being or meant to be the side on top, in front, or on the outside
The box landed right side up. Turn the socks right side out.
7
: in a normal or healthy state or condition
I don't feel right today. That milk doesn't smell right.
8
: straight entry 1 sense 1
a right line
right
nounKids Definition of right (Entry 2 of 4)
1
: the ideal of what is just, good, or proper
He hasn't learned right from wrong.
2
: something to which a person has a just claim
the right to vote He has a right to be angry.
3
: the cause of truth or justice
They fought for right.
4
: the right side : a part or location that is on or toward the right side
My house is on the right.
right
adverbKids Definition of right (Entry 3 of 4)
1
: according to what is just, good, or proper
She lives right.
2
: in the exact location, position, or moment : precisely
It's right where you left it.
3
: in a direct line or course : straight
Come right home.
4
: according to truth or fact
You guessed right.
5
: in a suitable, proper, or desired way
You're not doing it right.
6
: all the way
We stayed right to the end of the game.
7
: without delay : immediately
Let's go right after lunch.
8
: on or to the right
turn right
9
: in a complete way
He felt right at home here.
right away
: without delay : immediately
The movie started playing right away.— R.J. Palacio, Wonder
right
verb
righted;
righting
Kids Definition of right (Entry 4 of 4)
1
: to make better or more just
If only we could right the world's wrongs.
2
: to adjust or restore to a proper state or condition
3
: to bring or bring back to an upright position
I righted the books.
4
: to become upright
The ship slowly righted again.
right
adjective
\ ˈrīt
\
\
Medical Definition of right
: of, relating to, or being the side of the body which is away from the heart and on which the hand is stronger in most people
her right foot
also
: located nearer to this side than to the left
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right
noun
\ ˈrīt\
Legal Definition of right
1a
: qualities (as adherence to duty or obedience to lawful authority) that together constitute the ideal of moral propriety or merit moral approval
b
: something that is morally just
able to distinguish right from wrong
2
: something to which one has a just claim: as
a
: a power, privilege, or condition of existence to which one has a natural claim of enjoyment or possession
the right of liberty that all men…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights — Declaration of Independence
— see also natural right
b
: a power, privilege, immunity, or capacity the enjoyment of which is secured to a person by law
one's constitutional rights
c
: a legally enforceable claim against another that the other will do or will not do a given act
the defendant may be under a legal duty…to exercise reasonable care for the plaintiff's safety, so that the plaintiff has a corresponding legal right to insist on that care— W. L. Prosser and W. P. Keeton
d
: the interest that one has in property : a claim or title to property
—often used in pl. leasing mineral rights
— see also real right
e
plural
: the interest in property possessed (as under copyright law) in an intangible thing and especially an item of intellectual property
obtained publishing rights
3
: a privilege given stockholders to subscribe pro rata to a new issue of securities generally below market price
of right
1
: as an absolute right
2
: demandable or enforceable under the law
an appeal of right
Other Words from right
rightful
\ -fəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
rightfully
\ -fə-lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
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Comments on right
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