error
part of speech
noun (an error, errors)
meaning for a pupil
1) An error is a mistake, something done wrongly. tree →
2) In maths and science, an error is the difference between a measured or estimated value and the true value. tree →
3) A computer error is a problem that stops a program working correctly. tree →
sense in the lessons
At school, pupils find and correct errors in spelling, punctuation and calculations. In science, measurement errors are discussed. On computers, an error message shows something went wrong. Phrases: make an error, by error, in error, error message, trial and error, human error.
examples
- I made an error in my sum. tree →
- Check your work for errors. tree →
- There's an error message on the screen. tree →
- We found the answer by trial and error. tree →
- The letter was sent to us in error. tree →
- The ruler was bent, so there was an error in our measurement. tree →
- Count again; there was an error in the total. tree →
- There were a very large number of typographic errors in the source edition of this text. tree →
note
Countable; use an: an error. Spelling: double r: e-r-r-o-r, ending -or. Similar: mistake (more everyday). Trial and error means trying many ways until one works. Making errors is a normal part of learning.
In the corpora
- "Human error" (official) means someone made a mistake, without saying who.
- "An unforced error" (jargon, from tennis) means a mistake one made all by oneself.
- China's government later called it a serious error.
- In science, experiments often fail the first time; explaining why it failed is real science too, called trial and error.
- Counting the moments instead of the gaps between them (or the other way round) is called the fence-post error.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «error» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.