occasionally
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of occasionally
First recorded in 1615–25; occasional + -ly
Explanation
Something that happens occasionally doesn't happen all the time, just every once in a while. You play poker occasionally just to remind yourself that you always lose. The adverb occasionally is good for things that happen every now and then. You get tired of the cold occasionally, but the snow is lovely. Occasionally, you think of your long lost love, but never write. The idea comes to you occasionally that you should move somewhere with more people and warmer weather. I worry about you occasionally.
Vocabulary lists containing occasionally
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates
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Excerpt from "Bad Boy"
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
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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.
In this range, agents occasionally bumped into one another and formed short-lived clusters, but still managed to slip past and keep moving.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
Expect 10 to 15 meteors an hour but with surges that can occasionally deliver up to 100 per hour.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
About 90% of advisory firms say that they occasionally or regularly waive their minimum asset requirements.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Although a wise companion in other respects, she occasionally heads that way when we’re going this.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
The landscape outside was now just a green blur, occasionally broken by a flicker of gray as a town flew past.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
