word for word

American  

adverb

1. in exactly the same words; verbatim.

2. one word at a time, without regard for the sense of the whole.

   She translated the book word for word.

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word for word Idioms  

1. Exactly as written or spoken, as in That was the forecast, word for word. Chaucer used this idiom in the late 1300s.

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Other Word Forms

• word-for-word
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of word for word

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

word for word

New York copied this law almost word for word from Oregon, where our challenge is now before the Ninth U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

She told the High Court she knew "100%" that other stories had been obtained through hacking because they matched her voicemails "word for word".

From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026

That doesn’t mean your private chats about your colleague or spouse are going to show up word for word in someone else’s chat session a year or two from now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

At points, she repeated lines almost word for word: “When we organize, mountains move,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2024

I’m more than familiar—I could recite it word for word, but I don’t tell her that.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson