Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: riht, from riht (adjective); RIGHT1

right

4 noun
     
right4 S2 W1
1

allowed

[countable] something that you are morally, legally, or officially allowed to do or have:
people who are fighting for basic rights
right of
a new charter which establishes the rights and duties of citizens
the struggle for women's rights
a demonstration of people demanding equal rights for gay men
right to
Everyone should have the right to freedom of expression.
right to do something
You have the right to consult a lawyer.
right of appeal/access/reply etc
Convicted criminals have no automatic right of appeal.
They claim that the government is denying them their rights.
within your rights (=legally or morally allowed)
You would be within your rights to sue the company for negligence.
by right
The money is yours by right.
➔ civil rights, human right
2

have a right to be angry/concerned/suspicious etc

to have a good reason for being angry, concerned etc:
I think you have a right to feel very disappointed.
You had every right to be angry with them.
3

have no right to do something

used to say that someone's action is completely unreasonable or unfair:
You had no right to take money from my purse!
He has no right to speak to me like that!
4

side

the right/somebody's right

the side of your body that has the hand that most people write with, or this side of anything else [≠ left]
on/to the right (of something)
Our car is just to the right of that white van.
Take the first turning on the right.
on/to somebody's right
The school is on your right as you come into the village.
5

politics

the right/the Right

political parties or groups that support the ideas and beliefs of capitalism. They usually want low taxes and to encourage private business rather than businesses owned by the state [≠ left; ↪ right-wing]:
The campaign is being supported by the Right.
The Conservative Party seems to be moving even further to the right.
extreme/far right
politicians on the extreme right
6

correct behaviour

[uncountable] behaviour that is morally good and correct:
Some kids don't seem to know the difference between right and wrong.
The protesters believe that they have right on their side.
7

books/tv etc

rights

[plural] if someone has the rights to a book, film, television programme etc, they are allowed to sell it or show it [↪ copyright]
rights to
The studio bought the rights to his new book.
The company paid £2 million for film rights to the book.
the television rights to the Olympic Games
8

be in the right

to have the best reasons, arguments etc in a disagreement with someone else:
Both sides are convinced that they are in the right.
9

by rights

spoken used to describe what should happen if things are done fairly or correctly:
By rights, the house should be mine now.
10

in your own right

used to say that you have something or achieve something on your own, without depending on other people:
She's a very wealthy woman in her own right.
11

put something to rights

to make a place or situation return to normal again:
It took ages to put the room to rights again.
12

the rights and wrongs of something

the subject of what or who is right or wrong in a situation:
I don't want to spend ages discussing the rights and wrongs of all this.
13 [countable] a hit made with your right hand [≠ left]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary results for "right"
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary