right

right - English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (General South African) IPA: /ˈɹaɪt/, [ˈɹäːtʰ]
  • Homophones: rite, wright, Wright, write, rate (dialectal; certain senses only)

Adjective

right (comparative righter or more right, superlative rightest or rightmost)

  1. (archaic) Straight, not bent.
    • a right line
  2. (geometry) Of an angle, having a size of 90 degrees, or one quarter of a complete rotation; the angle between two perpendicular lines.
    • The kitchen counter formed a right angle with the back wall.
  3. (geometry) Of a geometric figure, incorporating a right angle between edges, faces, axes, etc.
  4. Complying with justice, correctness, or reason; correct, just, true.
    • That's not the right thing to do.
    • So I was right all along? C'mon. I want to hear you say it.
  5. Appropriate, perfectly suitable; fit for purpose.
    • Is this the right software for my computer?
  6. Healthy, sane, competent.
    • I'm afraid my father is no longer in his right mind.
  7. Real; veritable (used emphatically).
    • You've made a right mess of the kitchen!
  8. (Australia) All right; not requiring assistance.
  9. (dated) Most favourable or convenient; fortunate.
  10. Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north, the side on which the heart is not located in most humans. This arrow points to the reader's right: →
    • After the accident, her right leg was slightly shorter than her left.
  11. (geography) Designating the bank of a river (etc.) on one's right when facing downstream (i.e. facing forward while floating with the current); that is, the south bank of a river that flows eastward. If this arrow: ⥴ shows the direction of the current, the tilde is on the right side of the river.
  12. Designed to be placed or worn outward.
    • the right side of a piece of cloth
  13. (politics) Pertaining to the political right; conservative.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Terms derived from right (adjective, direction)
Terms related to right (adjective, correct)
Terms related to right (political)

Descendants

Translations


Adverb

right (not comparable)

  1. On the right side.
  2. Towards the right side.
  3. Exactly, precisely.
    • The arrow landed right in the middle of the target.
    • Luckily we arrived right at the start of the film.
  4. Immediately, directly.
    • Can't you see it? It's right beside you!
    • Tom was standing right in front of the TV, blocking everyone's view.
  5. (Britain, US, dialect) Very, extremely, quite.
    • I made a right stupid mistake there, didn't I?
    • I stubbed my toe a week ago and it still hurts right much.
  6. According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really.
  7. In a correct manner.
    • Do it right or don't do it at all.
  8. (dated, still used in some titles) To a great extent or degree.
    • Sir, I am right glad to meet you …
    • Members of the Queen's Privy Council are styled The Right Honourable for life.
    • The Right Reverend Monsignor Guido Sarducci.

Usage notes

In the US, the word "right" is used as an adverb meaning "very, quite" in most of the major dialect areas, including the Southern US, Appalachia, New England, and the Midwest, though the usage is not part of standard US English. In the UK also it is not part of the standard language but is regarded as stereotypical of the dialects of northern England, though it occurs in other dialects also.

Quotations

  • For quotations using this term, see right.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

  • Arabic: عَلَى اَلْيَمِين (ʕalā l-yamīn)
  • Asturian: a la derecha
  • Bashkir: уңда (uŋda), уңдағы (uŋdağı)
  • Belarusian: спра́ва (správa)
  • Bulgarian: отдя́сно (otdjásno)
  • Chinese:
    • Mandarin: 右邊右边 (zh) (yòubiān), 在右邊在右边 (zài yòubiān)
  • Czech: napravo
  • Dutch: rechts (nl)
  • Egyptian: (wnmj)
  • Finnish: oikealla
  • French: à droite (fr)
  • Galician: á dereita, á man dereita
  • Georgian: მარჯვნივ (marǯvniv), მარჯვენა მხარეს (marǯvena mxares)
  • German: rechts (de)
  • Greek: δεξιά (el) (dexiá)
  • Hungarian: jobbra (hu), jobboldalt (hu)
  • Ingrian: oikiaal
  • Italian: a destra
  • Japanese: 右に (ja) (みぎに, migi ni)
  • Korean: 오른쪽에 (ko) (oreunjjog-e)
  • Luxembourgish: riets
  • Macedonian: од десно (od desno)
  • Mongolian: ᠪᠠᠷᠠᠭᠤᠨ (baraɣun), баруун (mn) (baruun)
  • Navajo: nishʼnáájígo
  • Persian: راست (fa) (râst), به راست (be-râst)
  • Polish: na prawo (+ od + genitive), po prawej stronie (+ genitive), z prawej strony (+ genitive)
  • Portuguese: à direita
  • Romanian: la dreapta, pe dreapta
  • Russian: спра́ва (ru) (správa)
  • Sanskrit: दक्षिण (sa) (dakṣiṇa)
  • Slovak: na pravé
  • Slovene: na desni
  • Sorbian:
  • Spanish: a la derecha, a la diestra
  • Swedish: åt höger
  • Ugaritic: 𐎊𐎎𐎐 (ymn)
  • Ukrainian: право́руч (pravóruč)
  • Vietnamese: ở bên phải
  • Yiddish: רעכטס (rekhts)

Interjection

right

  1. Yes, that is correct; I agree.
    • — United's the best team in the country. — Right. And they'll go all the way for sure. — Damn right they will.
  2. I have listened to what you just said and I acknowledge your assertion or opinion, regardless of whether I agree with it (opinion) or can verify it (assertion).
    • — United's the best team in the country, so they'll come up with something. — Right. And do you think they'll go all the way?
  3. Signpost word to change the subject in a discussion or discourse.
    • — After that interview, I don't think we should hire her. — Right. Who wants lunch?
  4. Used to check listener engagement and (especially) agreement at the end of an utterance or each segment thereof.
    • You're going, right?
    • I went downstairs, right, and I was going to call her, but I found this note, right, so what am I supposed to do now?
  5. Used to add seriousness or decisiveness before a statement.

Usage notes

The polysemic ambiguity, regarding the senses of (1) affirming agreement and (2) acknowledging an utterance independently of agreement, sometimes functions politely as a social lubricant, avoiding any sarcastic connotation that OK might easily imply; the degree of clarity is sufficient in contexts where getting to the bottom of who agrees or disagrees is superfluous to the purpose of the conversation.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations


Noun

right (plural rights)

  1. That which complies with justice, law or reason.
    • We're on the side of right in this contest.
  2. A legal, just or moral entitlement.
    • You have no right to go through my personal diary.
  3. The right side or direction.
    • The pharmacy is just on the right past the bookshop.
  4. The right hand or fist.
  5. The authority to perform, publish, film, or televise a particular work, event, etc.; a copyright.
  6. (politics) The ensemble of right-wing political parties; political conservatives as a group.
    • The political right holds too much power.
  7. The outward or most finished surface, as of a coin, piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
  8. (surfing) A wave breaking from right to left (viewed from the shore).

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations


Verb

right (third-person singular simple present rights, present participle righting, simple past and past participle righted)

  1. (transitive) To correct.
    • Righting all the wrongs of the war immediately will be impossible.
  2. (transitive) To set upright.
    • The tow-truck righted what was left of the automobile.
  3. (intransitive) To return to normal upright position.
    • When the wind died down, the ship righted.
  4. (transitive) To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of.
    • to right the oppressed

Derived terms

Translations


Anagrams

right - Middle English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /rixt/, /riːxt/, [ɹiːçt]

Noun

right (plural rightes)

  1. A good deed; a right action.
  2. A just or equitable action.
  3. A law, ruling, judgement or rule.
  4. A right, entitlement or privilege.
  5. Truth, correctness.
  6. right (direction; as opposed to the left)

Descendants

Adjective

right (plural and weak singular righte, comparative rightre, superlative rightest)

  1. Straight; not crooked or bent.
  2. On the or at the right (as opposed to left)
  3. Morally or legally correct or justified.
  4. Real, genuine, authentic, true.
  5. Natural, undisturbed.

Descendants

right - Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈrait/ [ˈrai̯t̪]

Noun

right m (plural rights)

  1. (baseball) right fielder

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Meaning and Definition of right
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