accidentally
Americanadverb
-
by chance or mistake; in a way that is not planned or intended.
If you break your key, whether accidentally or on purpose, there is a $40 charge to replace it.
-
in a nonessential or subsidiary way; incidentally.
Philosophy is essentially a vocation, and only accidentally a profession.
Usage
Spelling tips for accidentally The word accidentally is hard to spell because it can be hard to remember which letters are doubled and which are not. To add to the confusion, there are two possible spellings of accidentally. While less common, accidently is also an acceptable spelling of the word. How to spell accidentally: It's no accident that many animals have two eyes to see (C) And two ears to Listen (L). This reminds you that the letters c and l are doubled in accidentally, with an a in between.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of accidentally
Explanation
If something happens accidentally, it didn't happen on purpose — blame it on a mistake, chance, or outside forces. There are things you mean to do, like brushing your hair or buttoning your shirt. Then there are things you do accidentally: you didn't mean for them to happen, but they happened anyway. Just about all spilled milk happens accidentally. If a surgeon leaves a scalpel in a patient, let's hope he did it accidentally. And if a football bounces off a defender into the running back's arms and he scores a touchdown, he made a great play — accidentally.
Vocabulary lists containing accidentally
Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 2
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nitrocellulose was invented in the mid-19th century, when Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein accidentally discovered that cotton became violently flammable after dipping in an acid mix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Jack White stepped in when Charley Crockett accidentally hired, then fired, a satanic doo-wop duo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Not every death involving ICE is a shooting, either; according to the Miami Herald, a man fleeing immigration agents was accidentally hit and killed by a tractor trailer in St. Augustine, Florida, this morning.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
"We immediately realised there had been a decompression. There were screams... for a moment I thought someone had accidentally opened the emergency door," Christina, a fellow passenger, told Radio Thessaloniki.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Then, about five minutes later, Arlo and some of his friends were running around and accidentally bumped the table.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
