accidentally

adverb

ac·​ci·​dent·​al·​ly ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē  -ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

: in an accidental or unintended manner : by accident

I accidentally deleted the file.

The lock prevents the gate from opening accidentally.

Six lionfish were accidentally released from a home aquarium in Biscayne Bay, Fla., during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

—Alcestis Cooky Oberg

The Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.

—Christie Aschwanden

He bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]

Examples of accidentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Terry Castillo, a member of the Osceola County School Board, said using those gives teachers a clear direction and protects them from accidentally teaching outside state bounds. —Lauren Brensel, Orlando Sentinel, 21 July 2024

When this happens, your immune system may accidentally attack your healthy cells instead unhealthy ones, causing the infection. —Janelle McSwiggin, Msn, Health, 21 July 2024

Boise Officer Wayne Anderson accidentally injured a third correction officer in the eye with either a bullet or shrapnel. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 19 July 2024

There are likely to be many stressors in your current life, especially coming from other people — intentionally or accidentally. —Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 19 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing accidentally

• accidentally on purpose