To correct something means to fix an error or make it right. When you correct a spelling mistake, you change the wrong letters to the right ones. When a teacher corrects your math homework, she marks which answers need fixing and shows you the right way to solve the problem.

Think of it like straightening a picture frame that's hanging crooked on the wall: you're adjusting it to where it should be.

Correct also works as an adjective meaning accurate or right. When you give a correct answer on a quiz, you've gotten it right. A correct way to hold a pencil makes writing easier and more comfortable. If someone says “That's correct!” they're confirming you've got something right.

Sometimes people correct each other in conversation, pointing out when someone has said something inaccurate. This can be helpful, like when a friend corrects you before you make an embarrassing mistake, but it can also feel annoying if someone constantly corrects minor things that don't really matter. Knowing when correction helps and when it just bothers people is part of learning how to be a good friend and teammate.

The word correction means the act of correcting or the change that fixes an error. You might make a correction to your essay or see a correction published in a newspaper when it has gotten a fact wrong.