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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rectifysimple
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rectifiessimple
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have rectifiedperfect
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has rectifiedperfect
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are rectifyingprogressive
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am rectifyingprogressive
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is rectifyingprogressive
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have been rectifyingperfect progressive
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has been rectifyingperfect progressive
Past
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rectifiedsimple
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had rectifiedperfect
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was rectifyingprogressive
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were rectifyingprogressive
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had been rectifyingperfect progressive
Future
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; see also right
Explanation
When you rectify something, you fix it or make it right. Some English teachers will give you a chance to rectify any mistakes you've made in an essay and hand in a second, edited draft. This verb often turns up in sentences like "The truce should help to rectify this situation between the two countries," or "I'd like to rectify the misspellings in this article before I print it." To rectify is to correct or improve something — you can imagine straightening out something that's bent to make it work better. The Old French rectifier, in fact, means "to make straight," from the Latin root rectus, "straight."
Vocabulary lists containing rectify
Grade 9, List 1
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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Hatchet
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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.
The April CPI was supposed to rectify the problem.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
On Friday, his lawyers filed a new appeal, asking the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction in order to "rectify a miscarriage of justice."
From Barron's • May 9, 2026
“I truly, truly just want it to be better for disabled fliers in the future. Aside from just me. ... They’re doing the right thing in terms of figuring out how to rectify it.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
"It's something that we're working really hard in Wales to rectify," she said.
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
In this case they took decades to rectify.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
