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.
London's Metropolitan Police said it was "hard to have an accurate estimate due to how far spread the crowds are" but provided a "rough estimate of around 50,000 people" in attendance.
From Barron's
Many airports also post regular security line and TSA PreCheck wait times on their websites, although some of the biggest have stopped that because they couldn’t guarantee the times were accurate.
It’s almost impossible for outsiders to evaluate the quality of private-credit loan portfolios and judge whether valuations assigned by private-credit lenders are accurate.
From Barron's
This uncertainty, encompassing the two likeliest of possible interpretations, has prompted some experts to suggest those titles as more accurate descriptions of the painting.
Both of them assumed that everything in it was accurate.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
