right
adjective · adverb · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rytIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹaɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
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: →
Complying with justice, correctness, or reason; correct, just, true. See also the interjection senses below.
Clockwise, particularly when describing a change in direction or orientation.
Appropriate, perfectly suitable; fit for purpose.
Healthy, sane, competent.
Designed to be placed or worn outward.
adverb
In a correct manner.
According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really.
Exactly, precisely.
Immediately, directly.
On the right side.
noun
The outward or most finished surface, as of a coin, piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
Location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east
The authority to perform, publish, film, or televise a particular work, event, etc.; a copyright.
The hand that is on the right side of the body
“He writes with his right hand but pitches with his left.”
The right hand or fist.
verb
transitive
To correct.
Regain an upright or proper position
Put in or restore to an upright position
“They righted the sailboat that had capsized.”
transitive
To set upright.
transitive
To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of.
intransitive
To return to normal upright position.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: 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: →
Used this way, right is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Location / handnoun
“He writes with his right hand but pitches with his left.”
Regain / putverb
“They righted the sailboat that had capsized.”
More ways to use right
- “He writes with his right hand but pitches with his left.”noun
- “They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”noun
- “He feels he is in the right.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
With honesty.
By right.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The cerebral hemisphere to the right of the corpus callosum that controls the left half of the body.
Arises from the right aortic sinus.
Positively.
The piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's right.
The person who plays right field.
A branch of the hepatic artery that supplies the pyloric portion of the stomach on the lesser curvature.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Flounders with both eyes on the right side of the head.
Flounders with both eyes on the right side of the head.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.