verbatim
Americanadverb
adjective
-
corresponding word for word to the original source or text.
a verbatim record of the proceedings.
-
skilled at recording or noting down speeches, proceedings, etc., with word-for-word accuracy.
a verbatim stenographer.
adverb
Etymology
Origin of verbatim
First recorded in 1475–85; from Medieval Latin verbātim, from verb(um) “word” + -ātim, adverb suffix
Explanation
Repeat something you've read or heard precisely word-for-word, and you have just quoted it verbatim. That's great if what you deliver verbatim is the directions on how to defuse a bomb, but not a good idea if you're cheating on a test and copying someone's answer verbatim. As a word, verbatim is powerful for its precision. When you can say that you are repeating someone's words verbatim, it means every single word is exactly what was said. If you write something down verbatim, you can rely on it being a duplicate of the original document, recreated. Repeating words verbatim in your own writing can be tricky business. Without attributing the original author, verbatim can be the damning evidence of plagiarism.
Vocabulary lists containing verbatim
Foreign Words and Phrases Commonly Used in English, List 1
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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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.
Alongside each photograph she includes verbatim excerpts of hourslong interviews that, she writes, “gave voice to one of the many stories I heard.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
Robert Strassler’s “Landmark Thucydides” of 1996, which improves on Crawley where it can, repeats these words verbatim.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
But they show an agency often slow to respond and frequently copying water company updates into EA documents verbatim before downgrading incidents.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2025
The poster’s copy, “Natasha Lyonne is Mama Poot,” is such a silly, objectively hilarious line of text that it’s already racking up swaths of likes just by people repeating it verbatim online.
From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025
He repeated his words verbatim, indicating with hand gestures that we would have to remove our scarves.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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.
