fact

[fakt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fact ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that actually exists; reality; truth: Your fears have no basis in fact.

something known to exist or to have happened: Space travel is now a fact.

a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true: Scientists gather facts about plant growth.

something said to be true or supposed to have happened: The facts given by the witness are highly questionable.

Law. Often facts. an actual or alleged event or circumstance, as distinguished from its legal effect or consequence.Compare question of fact, question of law.

Idioms

after the fact, Law. after the commission of a crime: an accessory after the fact.

before the fact, Law. prior to the commission of a crime: an accessory before the fact.

in fact, actually; really; indeed: In fact, it was a wonder that anyone survived.

Origin of fact

1530–40; < Latin factum something done, deed, noun use of neuter of factus done, past participle of facere to do¹

Related formsfact·ful, adjective

Can be confusedfacts FAQs fax

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for facts

Of course, to call out pinkwashing is not to deny the facts.
How Canadian Oilmen Pinkwash the Keystone Pipeline|Jay Michaelson|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a country where talk is “cheap” and opinions are “a dime a dozen,” we give the facts special privileges and special status.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But sometimes, the quest for facts lets us down, or leads us astray, and leaves us worse off than before, not better.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hitchcock always insisted the scene was important, that “the public has to have the facts.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In the safety of the light of day, we positively revel in our facts.
On Torture, Chuck Johnson & Sondheim|James Poulos|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ayrton was then made acquainted with the facts which had occurred during his seclusion.
The Secret of the Island|W.H.G. Kingston (translation from Jules Verne)
These facts may also be well brought out by another mode of section, viz.
Jellyfish, Starfish, and Sea-Urchins: Being a Research on Primitive Nervous Systems|G. J. Romanes
She put the facts, so evident to herself, before her visitor and asked her to look at them.
Tante|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
How absurd would it be then to argue against the existence of customs or facts, from the silence of such scanty records as these!
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Volume I (of 3)|Thomas Percy
But all the other facts put it beyond question that the picture could not have been done before 1529.
Holbein|Beatrice Fortescue

British Dictionary definitions for facts

fact

noun

an event or thing known to have happened or existed

a truth verifiable from experience or observation

a piece of informationget me all the facts of this case

law (often plural) an actual event, happening, etc, as distinguished from its legal consequences. Questions of fact are decided by the jury, questions of law by the court or judge

philosophy a proposition that may be either true or false, as contrasted with an evaluative statement

after the fact criminal law after the commission of the offencean accessory after the fact

before the fact criminal law before the commission of the offence

as a matter of fact, in fact or in point of fact in reality or actuality

fact of life an inescapable truth, esp an unpleasant one

the fact of the matter the truth

Derived Formsfactful, adjective

Word Origin for fact

C16: from Latin factum something done, from factus made, from facere to make

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for facts

fact

1530s, "action," especially "evil deed," from Latin factum "event, occurrence," literally "thing done," neuter past participle of facere "to do" (see factitious). Usual modern sense of "thing known to be true" appeared 1630s, from notion of "something that has actually occurred." Facts of life "harsh realities" is from 1854; specific sense of "human sexual functions" first recorded 1913.

Idioms and Phrases with facts

fact

In addition to the idiom beginning with fact

facts of life

also see:

after the fact
in fact
is that a fact
matter of fact

fact

noun

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Idioms

Origin of fact

Examples from the Web for facts

fact

noun

Word Origin for fact

fact

fact