errant

adjective

er·​rant ˈer-ənt How to pronounce errant (audio)
ˈe-rənt
1
a
: behaving wrongly
an errant child
b
: straying outside the proper path or bounds
an errant calf
c
: moving about aimlessly or irregularly
an errant breeze
d
2
: traveling or given to traveling
an errant knight
errant noun
errantly adverb

Did you know?

Errant has a split history. It comes from Anglo-French, a language in which two confusingly similar verbs with identical spellings ("errer") coexisted. One errer meant "to err" and comes from the Latin errare, meaning "to wander" or "to err." The second errer meant "to travel," and traces to the Latin iter, meaning "road" or "journey." Both "errer" homographs contributed to the development of "errant," which not surprisingly has to do with both moving about and being mistaken. A "knight-errant" travels around in search of adventures. Cowboys round up "errant calves." An "errant child" is one who misbehaves. (You might also see "arrant" occasionally - it's a word that originated as an alteration of "errant" and that usually means "extreme" or "shameless.")

Examples of errant in a Sentence

The teacher blamed the prank on errant students. the errant gunslinger as a standard character in western novels
Recent Examples on the Web Topping found few of these orbs below the soil layer with the errant radiocarbon dates, and few after. Zach St. George, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Israel initially said she was killed on May 11, 2022, by errant Palestinian fire, though independent investigations, including by the U.N., concluded that she was killed by the Israeli security forces. Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 12 Jan. 2024 The letter writer felt this was an errant decision because Mr. Trump was not indicted on or found guilty of an insurrection. Letter Writers, Twin Cities, 7 Jan. 2024 Oh-so-close loss of the week: Cal The Bears rallied from 14 points down with 16 minutes remaining and had a chance to beat UCLA, but Jalen Celestine’s errant 3-pointer with six seconds left sealed a 61-60 loss. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024 And the various manufacturers' systems differ from each other in both connectivity and scope, which makes troubleshooting an errant EV that much more difficult. Robin Warner, Ars Technica, 4 Dec. 2023 Israel blamed the explosion on an errant rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, while Hamas officials blamed an Israeli airstrike. Adam Sella, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023 The same goes for an errant piece of plastic, a shell where it wasn’t meant to be, or a pebble in your mussels. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 6 Feb. 2024 That time, after two Raheem Mostert runs got the Dolphins into Chiefs territory, Tagovailoa threw a pair of incomplete passes, then missed a wide-open Cedrick Wilson Jr. on third down due to a miscommunication on the route and finally mishandled a slightly errant snap on the final fourth down. David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English erraunt, from Anglo-French errant, present participle of errer to err & errer to travel, from Late Latin iterare, from Latin iter road, journey — more at itinerant

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of errant was in the 14th century

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Dictionary Entries Near errant

Cite this Entry

“Errant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/errant. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

errant

adjective
er·​rant ˈer-ənt How to pronounce errant (audio)
1
a
: moving around from place to place without apparent purpose or goal
b
: wandering in search of adventure
an errant knight
2
a
: straying outside proper bounds
an errant calf
b
: behaving or having behaved badly or wrongfully
errantry
-ən-trē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on errant

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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