Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

3 ADJ [ADJ n] If something such as a decision, choice, or action is the wrong one, it is not the best or most suitable one. □  I really made the wrong decision there. □  The wrong choice of club might limit your chances of success. □  We got married when I was 30 for all the wrong reasons.

4 ADJ If something is wrong , it is incorrect and not in accordance with the facts. □  How do you know that this explanation is wrong? □  20 per cent of the calculations are wrong. □  …a clock which showed the wrong time. □  Lots of people got the questions wrong. ● ADV [ADV after v] Wrong is also an adverb. □  I must have added it up wrong, then. □  It looks like it's spelled wrong. □  I can see exactly where he went wrong. ●  wrong|ly ADV [ADV with v] □  A child was wrongly diagnosed as having a bone tumour. □  Civilians assume, wrongly, that everything in the military runs smoothly.

5 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If something is wrong or goes wrong with a machine or piece of equipment, it stops working properly. □ [+ with ] We think there's something wrong with the computer. □ [+ with ] Something must have gone wrong with the satellite link.

6 ADJ [v-link ADJ , ADJ to-inf] If you are wrong about something, what you say or think about it is not correct. □ [+ about ] I was wrong about it being a casual meeting. □  It would be wrong to suggest that we are emotionally weaker than our forefathers. □  I'm sure you've got it wrong. Kate isn't like that. □  It's been very nice to prove them wrong. [Also + in ]

7 ADJ [ADJ to-inf] If you think that someone was wrong to do something, you think that they should not have done it because it was bad or immoral. □  She was wrong to leave her child alone. □  We don't consider we did anything wrong. ● N‑UNCOUNT Wrong is also a noun. □  …a man who believes that he has done no wrong.

8 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] Wrong is used to refer to activities or actions that are considered to be morally bad and unacceptable. □  Is it wrong to try to save the life of someone you love? □  They thought slavery was morally wrong. □  The only thing I consider wrong is when you hurt someone. □ [+ with ] There is nothing wrong with journalists commenting on the attractiveness of artists. ● N‑UNCOUNT Wrong is also a noun. □  Johnson didn't seem to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong.

9 N‑COUNT A wrong is an unfair or immoral action. □  I intend to right that wrong. □ [+ of ] The insurance company should not be held liable for the wrongs of one of its agents.

10 VERB If someone wrongs you, they treat you in an unfair way. □ [V n] You have wronged my mother. □ [V n] She felt she'd been wronged. □ [V ] Those who have wronged must be ready to say: 'We have hurt you by this injustice.'

11 ADJ [ADJ n] You use wrong to describe something which is not thought to be socially acceptable or desirable. □  If you went to the wrong school, you won't get the job.

12 PHRASE If a situation goes wrong , it stops progressing in the way that you expected or intended, and becomes much worse. □  It all went horribly wrong.

13 PHRASE If someone who is involved in an argument or dispute has behaved in a way which is morally or legally wrong, you can say that they are in the wrong . □  He didn't press charges because he was in the wrong.