autocorrect

nounB2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — auto sits at #2,891leans spoken

Autocorrect is the feature that changes what you typed, right or wrong. Blame autocorrect, turn off autocorrect, autocorrect struck again.

It works from a dictionary and from what you usually type, which is why it mangles names and dialect words hardest. Blaming autocorrect has become the standard apology for a message that went out wrong.

Definitions of autocorrect

1nounautocorrectThe feature that changes what you typed, right or wrong.B2
“I typed my friend's name correctly, but autocorrect changed it to a random word.”

autocorrect is a feature.

Where it comes from

Auto-, self, plus correct, from the automatic correction of typing.

Proto-Indo-European
*h₃reǵ-
Latin
correctus — improved, amended, correct
French
correct
English
correct
English, today
autocorrect

Built from

conrigere · Latin — to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct
con- · Latin — together
rego · Latin — I rule, make straight

From auto- + correct. correct Borrowed from French correct, from Latin correctus (“improved, amended, correct”), past participle of corrigere, conrigere (“to make straight, make right, make better, improve, correct”), from con- (“together”) + combining form of rego (“I rule, make straight”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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