right

pronunciation

How to pronounce right in British English: UK [raɪt]word uk audio image

How to pronounce right in American English: US [raɪt] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
    (frequently plural) the interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing
    location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east
    a turn to the right
    those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged
    anything in accord with principles of justice
    the hand that is on the right side of the body
    the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right
  • Verb:
    make reparations or amends for
    put in or restore to an upright position
    regain an upright or proper position
    make right or correct
  • Adjective:
    free from error; especially conforming to fact or truth
    being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the east when facing north
    socially right or correct
    in conformance with justice or law or morality
    correct in opinion or judgment
    appropriate for a condition or occasion
    of or belonging to the political or intellectual right
    in or into a satisfactory condition
    intended for the right hand
    in accord with accepted standards of usage or procedure
    having the axis perpendicular to the base
    of the side of cloth or clothing intended to face outward
    most suitable or right for a particular purpose
  • Adverb:
    precisely, exactly
    immediately
    exactly
    toward or on the right; also used figuratively
    in the right manner
    an interjection expressing agreement
    completely
    (Southern regional intensive) very
    in accordance with moral or social standards
    in a correct manner

Word Origin

right
right: [OE] Right goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *reg- ‘move in a straight line’, hence ‘direct’, hence ‘rule’, which also produced English rich and Latin rēx ‘king’ (source of English regal, royal, etc). Combination with the past participial suffix *-to- resulted in Latin rēctus ‘straight, right’, which lies behind English rectify, rectum, etc, and prehistoric Germanic *rekhtaz, which has evolved into German and Dutch recht, Swedish rätt, Danish ret, and English right.The use of the word as the opposite of left, paralleled in German and Dutch but not in the Scandinavian languages, derives from the notion that the right hand is the ‘correct’ hand to use. (French droit ‘right’ goes back to Latin dīrēctus, a derivative of rēctus.) The derived righteous [OE] etymologically means ‘in the right way’; it was compounded in the Old English period from riht ‘right’ and wīs ‘way’ (ancestor of the modern English suffix -wise).=> address, direct, raj, rector, regal, regiment, royal
right (adj.1)
"morally correct," Old English riht "just, good, fair; proper, fitting; straight, not bent, direct, erect," from Proto-Germanic *rekhtaz (cognates: Old Frisian riucht "right," Old Saxon reht, Middle Dutch and Dutch recht, Old High German reht, German recht, Old Norse rettr, Gothic raihts), from PIE root *reg- "move in a straight line," also "to rule, to lead straight, to put right" (see regal; cognates: Greek orektos "stretched out, upright;" Latin rectus "straight, right;" Old Persian rasta- "straight, right," aršta- "rectitude;" Old Irish recht "law;" Welsh rhaith, Breton reiz "just, righteous, wise"). Compare slang straight (adj.1) "honest, morally upright," and Latin rectus "right," literally "straight," Lithuanian teisus "right, true," literally "straight." Greek dikaios "just" (in the moral and legal sense) is from dike "custom." As an emphatic, meaning "you are right," it is recorded from 1580s; use as a question meaning "am I not right?" is from 1961. The sense in right whale is "justly entitled to the name." Right stuff "best human ingredients" is from 1848, popularized by Tom Wolfe's 1979 book about the first astronauts. Right of way is attested from 1767. Right angle is from late 14c.
right (adj.2)
"opposite of left," early 12c., riht, from Old English riht, which did not have this sense but meant "good, proper, fitting, straight" (see right (adj.1)). The notion is of the right hand as the "correct" hand. The usual Old English word for this was swiþra, literally "stronger." "The history of words for 'right' and 'left' shows that they were used primarily with reference to the hands" [Buck]. Similar sense evolution in Dutch recht, German recht "right (not left)," from Old High German reht, which meant only "straight, just." The usual PIE root (*dek-) is represented by Latin dexter (see dexterity). Other derivations on a similar pattern to English right are French droit, from Latin directus "straight;" Lithuanian labas, literally "good;" and Slavic words (Bohemian pravy, Polish prawy, Russian pravyj) from Old Church Slavonic pravu, literally "straight," from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per). The political sense of "conservative" is first recorded 1794 (adj.), 1825 (n.), a translation of French Droit "the Right, Conservative Party" in the French National Assembly (1789; see left (adj.)).
right (v.)
Old English rihtan "to straighten, rule, set up, set right, amend; guide, govern; restore, replace," from riht (adj.); see right (adj.1). Compare Old Norse retta "to straighten," Old Saxon rihtian, Old Frisian riuchta, German richten, Gothic garaihtjan. Related: Righted; righting.
right (n.)
Old English riht (West Saxon, Kentish), reht (Anglian), "that which is morally right, duty, obligation," also "rule of conduct; law of a land;" also "what someone deserves; a just claim, what is due; correctness, truth; a legal entitlement, a privilege," from the root of right (adj.1). Meaning "the right" (as opposed to the left) is from mid-13c.; political use from 1825. From early 14c. as "a right action, a good deed." Meaning "a blow with the right fist" is from 1898. The phrase to rights "at once, straightway" is 1660s, from sense "in a proper manner" (Middle English).
right (adv.)
Old English rehte, rihte "in a straight or direct manner," from right (adj.1). Right on! as an exclamation of approval first recorded 1925 in black slang, popularized mid-1960s by Black Panther movement.

Synonym

Antonym

Example

1. These are the right principles .
2. Which is the right approach ?
3. Does your right to drive a car ?
4. Women only gained the right to vote in 1953 .
5. The switch to the right tests the lights .

more: >How to Use "right" with Example Sentences