play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
Commonly Confused

'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

A simple trick to keep them separate


They're two of the most-confused words in English. Here's a simple method to sort them out.

Transcript

The choice between everyday, one word, and every day, two words, depends on how it's used. Everyday, one word, is an adjective meaning "used or seen daily," or "ordinary." "The phone calls were an everyday occurrence." Every day, two words, is an adverb phrase meaning "daily" or "every weekday." "They go to the coffee shop every day." One trick to remember which is which is to see if you can put another word between "every" and "day," as in "every single day." If you can, you want the two-word adverb.

Up next

play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate

play mrs malaprop
What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

play video drive safe ly
Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

play video hopefully
Hopefully

 

We believe the popular usage of this word is correct

play how to use a dictionary
How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary

play woman and dog illustration
'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there