precisely
Britishadverb
Explanation
The adverb precisely describes something done with complete accuracy or perfection. When you speak precisely, you pronounce each word completely and clearly — and you say exactly what you mean. Something that's done precisely is done with great care, the way you'd set the table according to your grandmother's demands, precisely following her instructions about where knives and forks should go. You can also use precisely to tell about an exact time, like meeting a friend under the big clock at precisely 12:30. On its own, precisely can substitute for yes or exactly.
Vocabulary lists containing precisely
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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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.
These are precisely the questions that a serious press corps should pursue relentlessly.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
For instance, if the team with the first possession winds up scoring a touchdown, its opponent knows precisely what it must do: Go for it on every fourth down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
"A law that was justified as protecting children's welfare is putting precisely those children under pressure at school," the group said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
And hide is precisely what Paxton needed to do.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
It was precisely the moment he had told his investors, back in the summer of 2005, that they only needed to wait for.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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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.
