accurately
Americanadverb
-
in a way that is free from error or defect and consistent with a standard, rule, or model.
She worked on aircraft before they left on missions; the work needed to be done fast and accurately to ensure safety on all flights.
-
correctly; precisely.
He’s a good lacrosse player; he passes well and can shoot accurately.
Humans are generally afraid of death—or, more accurately, don't want to die.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of accurately
Explanation
Anything done accurately is done correctly or with very few mistakes. Many things should be performed accurately, especially brain surgery. When you're accurate, you're precise: you get things right. To do something accurately is to do it in a precise, correct, careful manner. A baseball player with a good batting average hits the ball accurately. An accountant who never makes mistakes juggles the numbers accurately. If you got 100 on a test, you performed accurately. The opposite of this word is inaccurately, which means you did something wrong, incorrectly, or with a lot of mistakes.
Vocabulary lists containing accurately
Chapter 2: The Age of Exploration, Lessons 1–3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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Chapter 22: The Progressive Era
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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.
But Alonso has previous experience from his time at McLaren of Honda both not accurately assessing where the performance level of its own engine was, and in upgrades not delivering what was promised.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He added, accurately, that control of Congress could be riding on it.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Economists following the changes largely believe they are defensible moves that could more accurately reflect price changes in hard-to-measure corners of the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The LP served as a runway — or perhaps more accurately, a launching pad — for the more experimental and challenging efforts to follow.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
The smallest—an ornately jeweled dagger—could fit into an ankle holster; the largest was more accurately a small sword.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
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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.