rectify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make, put, or set right; remedy; correct.
He sent them a check to rectify his account.
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to put right by adjustment or calculation, as an instrument or a course at sea.
- Synonyms:
- straighten, regulate, adjust
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Chemistry. to purify (especially a spirit or liquor) by repeated distillation.
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Electricity. to change (an alternating current) into a direct current.
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to determine the length of (a curve).
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Astronomy, Geography. to adjust (a globe) for the solution of any proposed problem.
verb
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to put right; correct; remedy
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to separate (a substance) from a mixture or refine (a substance) by fractional distillation
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to convert (alternating current) into direct current
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maths to determine the length of (a curve)
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to cause (an object) to assume a linear motion or characteristic
Other Word Forms
- rectifiable adjective
- rectification noun
- self-rectifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of rectify
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rectifien, from Middle French rectifier, from Medieval Latin rēctificāre, from Latin rēct(us) “right, straight” + -ificāre -ify; right
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Our long national nightmare is over: Paramount+ has gone more than a month without a Taylor Sheridan show, but that situation will be rectified in March with not one, but two, new Sheridan-produced shows.
From MarketWatch
Few things are less edifying than a mob that has decided to rectify a great wrong in the name of justice and purity.
When relationships break down, the fallout can be hard to rectify, and hard to control, he says.
From BBC
"Apologies for that but I promise we will make it better. We are going to go away and work as hard as we can to go away and rectify things."
From BBC
While that issue has now been rectified, Airbus was forced to deliver fewer aircraft than it had initially aimed for last year.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
