exact
Americanadjective
-
strictly accurate or correct.
an exact likeness; an exact description.
- Antonyms:
- imprecise
-
precise, as opposed to approximate.
the exact sum; the exact date.
- Antonyms:
- imprecise
-
admitting of no deviation, as laws or discipline; strict or rigorous.
-
capable of the greatest precision.
exact instruments.
-
characterized by or using strict accuracy.
an exact thinker.
- Synonyms:
- scrupulous, demanding, punctilious, careful, methodical
-
Mathematics. (of a differential equation) noting that the collection of all terms, equated to zero, is an exact differential.
verb (used with object)
-
exacts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
exacted,
past participle, past
-
exacting
present participle
-
to call for, demand, or require.
to exact respect from one's children.
-
to force or compel the payment, yielding, or performance of.
to exact money; to exact tribute from a conquered people.
- Synonyms:
- wring
adjective
-
correct in every detail; strictly accurate
an exact copy
-
precise, as opposed to approximate; neither more nor less
the exact sum
-
(prenominal) specific; particular
this exact spot
-
operating with very great precision
exact instruments
-
allowing no deviation from a standard; rigorous; strict
an exact mind
-
based mainly on measurement and the formulation of laws, as opposed to description and classification
physics is an exact science
verb
-
to force or compel (payment or performance); extort
to exact tribute
-
to demand as a right; insist upon
to exact respect from one's employees
-
to call for or require
this work exacts careful effort
Synonym Usage
See extract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
exacternoun
-
exactnessnoun
-
exactornoun
-
exactableadjective
-
nonexactableadjective
-
preexactadjective
-
quasi-exactadjective
-
unexactedadjective
-
quasi-exactlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exactsimple
-
exactssimple
-
have exactedperfect
-
has exactedperfect
-
am exactingprogressive
-
are exactingprogressive
-
is exactingprogressive
-
have been exactingperfect progressive
-
has been exactingperfect progressive
Past
-
exactedsimple
-
had exactedperfect
-
was exactingprogressive
-
were exactingprogressive
-
had been exactingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exact
First recorded in 1525–45; late Middle English exacten (verb), from Latin exāctus (past participle of exigere “drive out, thrust out”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + ag(ere) “to drive” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
If something's exact, it's precise and completely accurate — as opposed to a guess, an estimate, or an approximation. Exact also has the meaning of taking something from someone, often money, and generally only given up with reluctance under the threat of force. The Mob might exact a shakedown from unfortunate businessmen, for example. The word comes from the Latin exactus "exact or accurate," a form of the verb exigere — meaning "to force out or demand," like the Mob demanding its money.
Vocabulary lists containing exact
The Merchant of Venice
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Common Core Grade 5, List 7
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
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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.
See Examples For:
However, the exact BFA profiles differed among species.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
The exact cause of the collision remains under investigation by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, and San Francisco police.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
It owns the stocks of effectively all the world’s big and medium-size companies, just over 10,000 of them, in exact proportion to their market value in dollars.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
They also got one exact score - Arsenal's 2-0 win at Sunderland - but also managed four correct results, giving them a total of 40 points.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Which meant that in the future I was going to write this letter and drop it here, in this exact moment, so that I could change the future in some way.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
That all-important cold chain exacts a cost from growers and distributors as well.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
The problem with this conception is the opportunity cost it exacts on the American reading public.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
The Magic City exacts a premium for the privilege.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Realistic scenes of a contentious father-daughter relationship, the toll shame exacts on families and a portrait of ‘70s California make the “The Ghostwriter” a page-turning, rewarding read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
Maybe Bastian exacts some final vendetta; maybe Frederick goes looking for his only way out.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
But Belafonte’s celebrity exacted a toll, as he documented in a late-life autobiography that Mr. Jelly-Schapiro draws on heavily.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Well, there are numerous contemporaneous examples of reparation payments exacted by European states, so you tell me.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
It is unclear if payments are being exacted under the new system.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Investor morale is now at its lowest point since December 2022, in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as surging energy costs exacted a heavy toll on German manufacturers.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
In April of 1933, a fresh and reconstituted varsity crew promptly exacted its revenge, sweeping the Olympic champion Cal Bears from their home waters on the Oakland Estuary.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
“Interiors by Stewart-Gulrajani merge architecture and artistry with exacting precision. Vaulted open-beam ceilings, vast picture windows, and refined finishes infuse each room with air, light, and composure,” the description added.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
His reputation as an exacting director precedes him.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
It needed to be private, convenient, and up to the exacting standards of the three-time champions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Yet other, more controversial projects, exacting irreversible change to capital institutions, are facing greater opposition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
What he ended up with was a blunt, sturdy house sheathed carefully with cedar shingles, testimony to its builder’s exacting nature.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
