adjective
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faithfully representing or describing the truth
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showing a negligible or permissible deviation from a standard
an accurate ruler
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without error; precise; meticulous
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maths
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(to n significant digits) representing the first n digits of the given number starting with the first nonzero digit, but approximating to the nearest digit in the final position
since π = 3.14159…, the approximation 3.1416 is accurate to 5 significant digits.
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(to n decimal places) giving the first n digits after the decimal point without further approximation
π = 3.1415 is in this sense accurate to 4 decimal places
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Related Words
See correct.
Other Word Forms
- accurately adverb
- accurateness noun
- hyperaccurate adjective
- hyperaccurateness noun
- superaccurate adjective
- superaccurateness noun
- unaccurate adjective
- unaccurateness noun
Etymology
Origin of accurate
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin accūrātus “carefully prepared” (past participle of accūrāre ), equivalent to ac- ac- + cūr(a) “care” + -ātus -ate 1
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.
Getting an accurate estimate of those costs would take months, and the only way to find out was for the board to move forward as if it was rebuilding.
That report, arriving about three weeks later than usual, will be refined in two successively more accurate estimates in the months that follow, in accordance with the BEA’s usual practice.
We’ll concern ourselves now with the nominations on the film side, as the guild’s awards are usually one of the most accurate bellwethers for the Oscars.
From Los Angeles Times
Fifa hopes that by taking accurate scans of each player it can improve how these decisions are shown to supporters.
From BBC
What’s more accurate to say is that businesses are barely creating more jobs than they destroy.
From MarketWatch
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.
