de facto

American  

[dee fak-toh, dey] / di ˈfæk toʊ, deɪ /

adverb

1. in fact; in reality: They are forbidden from leaving the camp, thereby being de facto in a state of detention.

   Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country.

   They are forbidden from leaving the camp, thereby being de facto in a state of detention.

2. actually existing, especially when without lawful authority (de jure ).

   He led efforts to reduce de facto segregation in the city's public schools.

---

noun

1. Australia. a person who lives with someone in an intimate romantic relationship but is not married to that person.

de facto British  

/ deɪ ˈfæktəʊ /

adverb

1. in fact

---

adjective

1. existing in fact, whether legally recognized or not Compare de jure

   a de facto regime

noun

1. a de facto husband or wife

de facto Cultural  

1. Something generally accepted or agreed to without any formal decision in its favor: “They never elected him; he became their leader de facto.” From Latin, meaning “in fact.” (Compare de jure.)

---

Etymology

Origin of de facto

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin dē factō literally, “from the fact”

Example Sentences

Since joining OpenAI, Simo has become its de facto leader, overseeing everything outside of the startup’s research and data-center teams, which report to Altman.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The impact of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already led governments to take exceptional measures, like the Philippines which has declared a national energy emergency, Maynier noted.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Marooned on their own de facto uninhabited island.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

Lipacis noted that the difference between Arm and Nvidia, however, is that Nvidia developed its chips and then “fought to become the de facto standard” for GPUs.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

As for Annabeth—she’d been the de facto leader of the quest.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• existing