right
n. countablen. a moral or legal power to have or do something. You use this when talking about what people are allowed to do by law or fairness.
n. a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something. Often used in political or legal contexts to describe fundamental freedoms or protections.
Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
The protesters marched through the city to demand the right to vote for all citizens.
The debate centered on whether the right to privacy should be considered absolute or if it could be limited by the state for security reasons.
From Middle English right, from Old English riht, reht (“right,” also the word for “straight” and “direct”), from Proto-West Germanic reht, from Proto-Germanic rehtaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵtós (“having moved in a straight line”), from h₃reǵ- (“to straighten, direct”). The Germanic adjective which has been used also as a noun since the common Germanic period. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian rjocht (“right”), Dutch recht (“straight”), German recht and Recht (“right”), Luxembourgish Recht, riets (“right”), riicht (“straight”), Yiddish רעכט (rekht, “right”), Danish ret (“right”), Faroese rættur (“right”), Icelandic réttur (“right”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk rett (“right”), Swedish rätt, rät (“right”). The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek ὀρεκτός (orektós) and Latin rēctus; Albanian drejt was borrowed from Latin.
From Middle English right, righte, from Old English rihte, rehte (“right; rightly; due; directly; straight”), from Proto-Germanic rehta, from rehtaz (“right; straight”).
From Middle English right, from Old English riht, reht, ġeriht (“that which is right, just, or proper”), from Proto-West Germanic reht, from Proto-Germanic rehtą (“a right”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵtom, from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵt- (“to straighten; direct”). Cognate with Dutch recht (“a right; privilege”), German Recht (“a right”), Danish ret (“a right”).
From Middle English righten, reghten, riȝten, from Old English rihtan, ġerihtan (“to straighten, judge, set upright, set right”), from Proto-West Germanic rihtijan, from Proto-Germanic rihtijaną (“to straighten; rectify; judge”).
Commonly followed by the preposition 'to' and a noun, or 'to' and an infinitive verb.
I have right to goI have the right to goWhen used to mean an entitlement, the noun is countable and usually requires the definite article 'the'.