sporadically
Americanadverb
-
every now and then; at irregular intervals in time.
Ox-eye sunflowers bloom sporadically throughout the summer.
-
here and there; in scattered locations.
Little candles, placed sporadically among the chapel pews, lit up people’s faces.
Etymology
Origin of sporadically
First recorded in 1675–85; sporadic ( def. ) + -ally ( def. )
Explanation
Something that happens sporadically doesn't occur with regularity, but rather periodically or occasionally. You might meet sporadically with your cousins, usually on minor holidays like Memorial Day or Flag Day. Sporadically comes from the Greek word sporadikos, meaning scattered, with the root word spora, which means sowing. Imagine sowing seed by scattering it, and you'll get the hit-or-miss sense of sporadically. There is no pattern to the frequency of an event that occurs sporadically. Working sporadically is hard because you lack a steady income and never know when you'll be busy, but traveling sporadically can be fun.
Vocabulary lists containing sporadically
The Glass Castle
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
Gates opened for supporters at 11:00 local time - four hours before kick-off - with more gates being opened sporadically to ease congestion.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Ellington had introduced the work as a two-sided 78 in 1937, played it sporadically throughout the 1940s, and revived it in 1951, not long after Gonsalves joined the sax section.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Students like Wang sporadically sign up for competitions, but a lack of funding and exposure means few adopt it as a full-time career, leaving it facing an existential struggle.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
The review found that reports of great white sharks in Spanish Mediterranean waters have continued to appear over the decades, even if only sporadically.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
The only feature was the dark green block of Washington Square Park, sporadically lit by lightning flashes.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
