How to Use err in a Sentence

err

verb
  • The court erred in refusing to allow bail.
  • I may have erred in my calculations.
  • If in doubt, err on the side of caution and prime the area.
    Tamara Gane, Southern Living, 19 Mar. 2021
  • Creamy Whip chose to err on the side of caution and close its doors.
    Keely Brown, The Enquirer, 30 June 2020
  • The Wave erred often, and the Pride punished them for it.
    Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2023
  • If in doubt as to how far to cut a branch back, err on the side of pruning more.
    Tim Johnson, chicagotribune.com, 1 Aug. 2019
  • Wear with a pair of sleek jeans or leather pants for a look that errs on the edgier side.
    Laura Jackson, Vogue, 20 Sep. 2023
  • Under the circumstances, the Fed would do well to err on the side of caution.
    Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 13 Aug. 2021
  • Get a flu shot and err on side of caution, experts say.
    Chicago Tribune Staff, chicagotribune.com, 28 Oct. 2020
  • Experts say when in doubt, err on the side of caution and talk to your doctor.
    Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 14 May 2021
  • The temptation, at least for me, is to err on the side of specificity.
    Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 8 Sep. 2020
  • Be sure to aim straight in, err on aiming up a bit, and drill a hole about 1 1/2 inches deep.
    Susan Dietrich Hassler, Star Tribune, 3 Mar. 2021
  • Leavell likes pants that err on the side of being more fitted, akin to leggings.
    Jenny McCoy, SELF, 25 Jan. 2022
  • Sport your tanks, most of which will likely err on the more basic side, with the trending now.
    Laura Jackson, Vogue, 25 July 2024
  • The Fed also needs to be sure not to err too much in the other direction.
    John Greenwood, WSJ, 10 Mar. 2022
  • The key, when cooking them, is to err on the side of less water, so your grains end up pearly and distinct.
    Emily Horton, charlotteobserver, 19 June 2018
  • At the end, South erred by leading a club for a nonexistent end play.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 5 June 2024
  • As for what to keep or download or scan or print, err on the side of overabundance.
    Ron Lieber, New York Times, 16 May 2020
  • But Stafford, a 15th-year pro, erred in the fourth quarter and had another pass picked off.
    Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Hadid erred on the more casual side in a crop top, black skirt, and loafers with socks.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 20 June 2023
  • So for now, many Americans will err on the side of caution.
    Faith Karimi, CNN, 4 May 2021
  • Luckily, fans won’t have to wait that long to see Steve Trevor...err Chris Pine on screen again.
    refinery29.com, 4 July 2018
  • The current measures seem to err on the restrictive side for my taste.
    Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2022
  • The best advice is often the simplest: When in doubt, err on the side of caution and comfort.
    Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 3 Nov. 2022
  • The latter harm appears worse, so the English court was right to err on the side of preventing it.
    The Economist, 12 Dec. 2020
  • Now Instagram, in this case, has chosen to err on the side of caution.
    Arielle Pardes, Wired, 6 Oct. 2020
  • The edge pressure was enough to knock Watson off his spot, but the defensive backs had erred.
    Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 20 Nov. 2019
  • In other words, erring on the side of caution is not a bad survival technique.
    Liz Langley, National Geographic, 18 Nov. 2019
  • The preparations, as two sources described it, also led to establishing around-the-clock staffing for weeks to monitor for any uploads of Israeli hostages and err toward removals.
    Paresh Dave, WIRED, 2 July 2024
  • Many campaigns — and consultants — err by ignoring their opponent’s base.
    Rich Orsillo, New York Daily News, 8 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'err.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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