accidentally

adverb

ac·​ci·​dent·​al·​ly ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē How to pronounce accidentally (audio) -ˈden-tᵊl-ē How to pronounce accidentally (audio)
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
That only happens accidentally as a result of trying to sound like the text it was trained on. Alex Morris, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2025 Of course, a lot of that sugar is consumed accidentally. Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 14 July 2025 Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio analyzed more than a decade’s worth of data, examining over 134,000 cases of children under 6 who accidentally ingested nicotine through products like vapes, gums, and lozenges. Jeffrey Kopp, CNN Money, 14 July 2025 Charlotte moved Bliss out of the way as Zaria accidentally speared Sol Ruca. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for accidentally

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of accidentally was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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