right
[3] ( rights plural ) (ENTITLEMENT)
1 n-plural Your rights are what you are morally or legally entitled to do or to have.
usu poss N
They don't know their rights..., You must stand up for your rights.
2 n-sing If you have a rightto do or to have something, you are morally or legally entitled to do it or to have it.
usu N to-inf
...a woman's right to choose...
3 n-plural If someone has the rightsto a story or book, they are legally allowed to publish it or reproduce it in another form, and nobody else can do so without their permission.
the N, usu with supp
An agent bought the rights to his life..., He'd tried to buy the film rights of all George Bernard Shaw's plays.
4 If something is not the case but you think that it should be, you can say that by rights it should be the case.
♦
by rights phrase PHR with cl
She did work which by rights should be done by someone else.
5 If someone is a successful or respected person in their own right, they are successful or respected because of their own efforts and talents rather than those of the people they are closely connected with.
♦
in one's own right phrase usu n adj PHR
Although now a celebrity in her own right, actress Lynn Redgrave knows the difficulties of living in the shadow of her famous older sister...
6 If you say that you reserve the rightto do something, you mean that you will do it if you feel that it is necessary.
♦
reserve the right phrase V inflects, PHR to-inf
He reserved the right to change his mind...
7 If you say that someone is within their rightsto do something, you mean that they are morally or legally entitled to do it.
♦
within one's rights phrase usu v-link PHR
(=justified)
You were quite within your rights to refuse to co-operate with him.
Translation English - Cobuild Collins Dictionary
To add entries to your own vocabulary, become a member of Reverso community or login if you are already a member.
It's easy and only takes a few seconds:
- Create your own vocabulary list
- Contribute to the Collaborative Dictionary
- Improve and share your linguistic knowledge
"Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 4th edition published in 2003 © HarperCollins Publishers 1987, 1995, 2001, 2003 and Collins A-Z Thesaurus 1st edition first published in 1995 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995"