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Entry 29 senses · 5 variants Webster, 1913

Right

/(rīt)/ · IPA /ˈɹaɪt/
01 a. Straight; direct; not crooked; as, a right line.
  1. 1.
    Straight; direct; not crooked; as, a right line.
  2. 2.
    Upright; erect from a base; having an upright axis; not oblique; as, right ascension; a right pyramid or cone.
  3. 3.
    Conformed to the constitution of man and the will of God, or to justice and equity; not deviating from the true and just; according with truth and duty; just; true.
    “That which is conformable to the Supreme Rule is absolutely right, and is called right simply without relation to a special end.” — Whately.
  4. 4.
    Fit; suitable; proper; correct; becoming; as, the right man in the right place; the right way from London to Oxford.
  5. 5.
    Characterized by reality or genuineness; real; actual; not spurious.
    “In this battle, . . . the Britons never more plainly manifested themselves to be right barbarians.” — Milton.
  6. 6.
    According with truth; passing a true judgment; conforming to fact or intent; not mistaken or wrong; not erroneous; correct; as, this is the right faith.
    “You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well.” — Shak.
    “If there be no prospect beyond the grave, the inference is . . . right, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.”” — Locke.
  7. 7.
    Most favorable or convenient; fortunate.
    “The lady has been disappointed on the right side.” — Spectator.
  8. 8.
    Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which the muscular action is usually stronger than on the other side; -- opposed to left when used in reference to a part of the body; as, the right side, hand, arm. Also applied to the corresponding side of the lower animals.
    “Became the sovereign's favorite, his right hand.” — Longfellow.
  9. 9.
    Well placed, disposed, or adjusted; orderly; well regulated; correctly done.
  10. 10.
    Designed to be placed or worn outward; as, the right side of a piece of cloth.
    ““Right,” cries his lordship.” — Pope.
Phrases & compounds
At right angles — so as to form a right angle or right angles, as when one line crosses another perpendicularly.
Right and left — in both or all directions.
Right and left coupling — a coupling the opposite ends of which are tapped for a right-handed screw and a left-handed screw, respectivelly.
Right angle — The angle formed by one line meeting another perpendicularly, as the angles ABD, DBC.
Right ascension — See under Ascension.
Right Center — those members belonging to the Center in a legislative assembly who have sympathies with the Right on political questions. See Center, n., 5.
Right cone — a cone, cylinder, prism, or pyramid, the axis of which is perpendicular to the base.
Right line — See under Line.
Right sailing — sailing on one of the four cardinal points, so as to alter a ship's latitude or its longitude, but not both.
Right sphere — a sphere in such a position that the equator cuts the horizon at right angles; in spherical projections, that position of the sphere in which the primitive plane coincides with the plane of the equator.
Syn. Straight; direct; perpendicular; upright; lawful; rightful; true; correct; just; equitable; proper; suitable; becoming.
02 adv. In a right manner.
  1. 1.
    In a right manner.
  2. 2.
    In a right or straight line; directly; hence; straightway; immediately; next; as, he stood right before me; it went right to the mark; he came right out; he followed right after the guide.
    “Unto Dian's temple goeth she right.” — Chaucer.
    “Let thine eyes look right on.” — Prov. iv. 25.
    “Right across its track there lay, Down in the water, a long reef of gold.” — Tennyson.
  3. 3.
    Exactly; just.[Obs. or Colloq.]
    “Came he right now to sing a raven's note?” — Shak.
  4. 4.
    According to the law or will of God; conforming to the standard of truth and justice; righteously; as, to live right; to judge right.
  5. 5.
    According to any rule of art; correctly.
    “You with strict discipline instructed right.” — Roscommon.
  6. 6.
    According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really; correctly; exactly; as, to tell a story right.
    “Right as it were a steed of Lumbardye.” — Chaucer.
    “His wounds so smarted that he slept right naught.” — Fairfax.
  7. 7.
    In a great degree; very; wholly; unqualifiedly; extremely; highly; as, right humble; right noble; right valiant.
    “For which I should be right sorry.” — Tyndale.
    “[I] return those duties back as are right fit.” — Shak.
Phrases & compounds
Right honorable — a title given in England to peers and peeresses, to the eldest sons and all daughters of such peers as have rank above viscounts, and to all privy councilors; also, to certain civic officers, as the lord mayor of London, of York, and of Dublin.
Right along — without cessation; continuously; as, to work right along for several hours.
Right away — at once; straightway; without delay.
03 n. That which is right or correct.
  1. 1.
    That which is right or correct.
    “Seldom your opinions err; Your eyes are always in the right.” — Prior.
  2. 2.
    A just judgment or action; that which is true or proper; justice; uprightness; integrity.
    “Long love to her has borne the faithful knight, And well deserved, had fortune done him right.” — Dryden.
  3. 3.
    That to which one has a just claim.
    “There are no rights whatever, without corresponding duties.” — Coleridge.
  4. 4.
    That which one has a legal or social claim to do or to exact; legal power; authority; as, a sheriff has a right to arrest a criminal.
    “Born free, he sought his right.” — Dryden.
    “Hast thou not right to all created things?” — Milton.
    “Men have no right to what is not reasonable.” — Burke.
  5. 5.
    Privilege or immunity granted by authority.
  6. 6.
    The right side; the side opposite to the left.
    “Led her to the Souldan's right.” — Spenser.
  7. 7.
    In some legislative bodies of Europe (as in France), those members collectively who are conservatives or monarchists. See Center, 5. See: Center
  8. 8.
    The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
    “He should himself use it by right.” — Chaucer.
    “I should have been a woman by right.” — Shak.
04 v. t. To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to…
imp. & p. p. Righted; p. pr. & vb. n. Righting
  1. 1.
    To bring or restore to the proper or natural position; to set upright; to make right or straight (that which has been wrong or crooked); to correct.
  2. 2.
    To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of; as, to right the oppressed; to right one's self; also, to vindicate.
    “So just is God, to right the innocent.” — Shak.
    “All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” — Jefferson.
Phrases & compounds
To right a vessel — to restore her to an upright position after careening.
To right the helm — to place it in line with the keel.
05 v. i. To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.
  1. 1.
    To recover the proper or natural condition or position; to become upright.
  2. 2.
    Hence, to regain an upright position, as a ship or boat, after careening.(Naut.)