word for word

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.

Other Word Forms

• word-for-word adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of word for word¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

That’s almost—word for word—what he said roughly 18 months ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It is why I chose to read it out, word for word, to the chancellor – scrutinising their promises on your behalf.

Read more on BBC

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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The title came to her first — “At the Beach, in Every Life” — and the song poured out of her, nearly word for word.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Often, “Eddington” plays out so formally and predictably that it’s like watching someone write out the thing that’s making them anxious on paper, word for word.

Read more on Salon