exactly
Americanadverb
-
in an exact manner; precisely; accurately.
-
in every respect; just.
He will do exactly what he wants.
-
quite so; that's right.
idioms
adverb
-
in an exact manner; accurately or precisely
-
in every respect; just
it is exactly what I want
-
ironic not at all; by no means
Etymology
Origin of exactly
Explanation
Something exactly right is precisely, totally, completely right. This is a word with no fuzziness or wiggle room. Isn't it nice when you know exactly the right word for something? Well, exactly is a word for when you're talking about things that fit perfectly or are unquestionably correct. Ten plus ten is exactly twenty. There are exactly fifty states. An astronomer could tell you exactly how far away the moon is. Exactly is the opposite of approximately or roughly. If you don't know for sure what you're talking about, don't use the word exactly.
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.
"Our ground testing couldn't exactly reproduce the environment Roman would experience in space, such as the absence of gravity," Bolcar said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
I don’t remember exactly when the pagers mostly disappeared.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
It’s been almost exactly 11 years since The Wall Street Journal began publishing reporter John Carreyrou’s groundbreaking coverage on the downfall of Elizabeth Holmes’s Theranos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
Yet many questions remain about what exactly these infinitesimal flecks of synthetic polymers do to human health, and how they might cause disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Clare growled, recalling exactly why this was worth venturing into Fernlight Forest.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
