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.
A crowd of 73,946 gathered around Shane Gillis last month to hear his jokes about exposing himself accidentally on Snapchat and looking like a junior-varsity football coach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
“If somebody falls in accidentally, then having somebody there, they’ll be able to respond to it quickly,” Kim said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Part of the fossil – precisely the portion that preserved essential information about its provenance – was accidentally lost for more than two decades.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
And in its zeal to purge the newsroom of dissent, CBS and Weiss may have inadvertently triggered the creation of their most dangerous future competitor — and accidentally set the stage for its own undoing.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
It looked to me, the first time, like a toy that God had been playing with and accidentally dropped out of heaven.
From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant
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.
