precisely
Britishadverb
Explanation
The adverb precisely describes something done with complete accuracy or perfection. When you speak precisely, you pronounce each word completely and clearly — and you say exactly what you mean. Something that's done precisely is done with great care, the way you'd set the table according to your grandmother's demands, precisely following her instructions about where knives and forks should go. You can also use precisely to tell about an exact time, like meeting a friend under the big clock at precisely 12:30. On its own, precisely can substitute for yes or exactly.
Vocabulary lists containing precisely
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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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.
Precisely determining the amount of rotation, known as the birefringence angle, is therefore essential for testing possible new physics.
From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026
Precisely the same number of points that Kobe had after three quarters when coach Phil Jackson pulled him from a blowout win against Dallas a few weeks before he dropped 81.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
Precisely who is on that list is being finalized.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
Precisely when in prehistory mammals began to lactate, no one yet knows.
From Slate • Aug. 13, 2024
Precisely at that moment, the garden echoed with temple bells.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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.
