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

With smartphones and car infotainment systems, there are a lot of different ways for drivers to become distracted and accidentally kill themselves or someone else. —Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026

Pre-emergents are also less problematic to use than post-emergent weed killers that can accidentally kill desirable ornamental plants, grasses, and vegetables. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026

Investigators say diesel fuel was accidentally mixed with regular unleaded gasoline, leaving many drivers unable to start or operate their vehicles. —Jasmine Arenas, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026

The British series concerns a group of juvenile delinquents (chavs, really) who are accidentally imbued with incredible powers after getting caught in an electrical storm. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for accidentally

• detrimentally
• fundamentally
• governmentally
• incidentally
• incrementally
• instrumentally
• sentimentally
• temperamentally
• coincidentally
• environmentally
• experimentally
• mentally