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exact science

American  

noun

  1. a science, as chemistry or physics, that deals with quantitatively measurable phenomena of the material universe.


Etymology

Origin of exact science

First recorded in 1860–65

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.

See Examples For:

To be sure, calculating real interest rates is not an exact science, since they are based on future inflation — and that is something we can only estimate.

From MarketWatch Apr. 8, 2026

The problem is that tax withholding isn’t an exact science, and it doesn’t account for all of the latest tax law changes or fluctuating factors, such as freelance income, investment income and charitable donations.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 25, 2026

"Other thefts are likely unreported and remain unknown as attributing cyber thefts to North Korea is not an exact science."

From BBC Oct. 7, 2025

However, making these decisions is far from an exact science and there’s no way to guarantee that an indicator in past elections will hold true in future elections.

From Salon Sep. 16, 2024

As you will gather from this, measuring earthquakes is not always an exact science, particularly when interpreting readings from remote locations.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

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