accurately
Americanadverb
-
in a way that is free from error or defect and consistent with a standard, rule, or model.
She worked on aircraft before they left on missions; the work needed to be done fast and accurately to ensure safety on all flights.
-
correctly; precisely.
He’s a good lacrosse player; he passes well and can shoot accurately.
Humans are generally afraid of death—or, more accurately, don't want to die.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of accurately
Explanation
Anything done accurately is done correctly or with very few mistakes. Many things should be performed accurately, especially brain surgery. When you're accurate, you're precise: you get things right. To do something accurately is to do it in a precise, correct, careful manner. A baseball player with a good batting average hits the ball accurately. An accountant who never makes mistakes juggles the numbers accurately. If you got 100 on a test, you performed accurately. The opposite of this word is inaccurately, which means you did something wrong, incorrectly, or with a lot of mistakes.
Vocabulary lists containing accurately
Chapter 2: The Age of Exploration, Lessons 1–3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ly
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Chapter 22: The Progressive Era
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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.
Hartig told lawmakers that while the White House report is under review, "we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum."
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Across the different test conditions, the simulations closely matched the laboratory measurements, giving the researchers confidence that their models accurately describe the detector's performance.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
The watchdog found the company did not communicate "clearly and accurately" with customers quickly enough and did not provide those affected with adequate bottled water supplies.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Parity is in the eye of the beholder, or more accurately in the definition of the beholder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
To tell the interviewer that I knew the woman was lying seemed worse than translating what the woman said as accurately as I could and letting the interviewer figure it out.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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.
