everyday

American  

[ev-ree-day, ev-ree-day] / ˈɛv riˌdeɪ, ˈɛv riˈdeɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to every day; daily.

   an everyday occurrence.

2. of or for ordinary days, as contrasted with Sundays, holidays, or special occasions.

   everyday clothes.

   Synonyms:

   usual, common, workday

3. such as is met with every day; ordinary; commonplace.

   a placid, everyday scene.

   Synonyms:

   usual, common, workday

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noun

1. the routine or ordinary day or occasion.

   We use inexpensive plates for everyday.

everyday British  

/ ˈɛvrɪˌdeɪ /

adjective

1. happening each day; daily

2. commonplace or usual; ordinary

3. suitable for or used on ordinary days as distinct from Sundays or special days

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Usage

What’s the difference between everyday and every day? Everyday is most commonly used as an adjective meaning daily or, in a more figurative sense, ordinary, as in an everyday occurrence. The phrase every day means each day—it functions as an adverb to describe how frequently an action is done, as in I try to exercise every day. Think of it this way: everyday is used to describe nouns, while every day is used to describe verbs. For example, a person might aspire to go for a run every day, eat vegetables every day, and read every day. If they did these things every day (or most days), these activities would constitute part of their everyday routine. If you can replace the term with regular or ordinary, use everyday. If you can replace it with each day, use every day. Careful—the word daily can be used to replace both terms in certain situations (such as I exercise every day and This is one of my everyday exercises). Here’s an example of everyday and every day used correctly in the same sentence. Example: Every day this week I’ve tried to change one thing about my everyday routine. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between everyday and every day.

Other Word Forms

• everydayness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of everyday

First recorded in 1325–75, everyday is from the Middle English word everydayes. See every, day

Explanation

Something routine or ordinary is called everyday. Your everyday chores, your everyday clothes, your everyday activities — these things make up everyday life. The adjective everyday describes the common things that you generally do as part of a regular day — doing the dishes in an everyday task — but it can also have the sense of “ordinary,” like the casual everyday clothes you wear when you’re not doing anything special. Make sure you spell everyday as one word: everyday. Every day, which carries the more literal sense of something that’s done every day, is spelled as two words.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

everyday

Water will only be needed for everyday uses, such as toilets and staff facilities, with none taken from nearby rivers or marshes.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

“There are people who may have a lot of everyday furniture but it’s not going to make sense for an estate sale.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The citywide annual event aims to bring technology to everyday consumers and constituents, and AI was one of its biggest concerns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Under that view, species that frequently engage in everyday fights or disputes might also be expected to show higher levels of lethal violence.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Thus it is a structure distinguished from the practical, everyday kind by its scale, order, permanence, or solemnity of purpose.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Related Words

• commonplace
• frequent
• mundane
• normal
• ordinary
• prosaic
• usual
• workaday