incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner : not intentionally

the arrant nonsense of some of his statements is incidentally hilarious

—John Lahr

2

: by way of interjection or digression : by the way

fortunate in having a good teacher … —still living, incidentally

—John Fischer

Synonyms

• in passing
• by the way
• by the bye
• by the by

Examples of incidentally in a Sentence

Not incidentally, the market slump was followed by widespread layoffs.

incidentally, have you seen the new building they're putting up?

Recent Examples on the Web

Vogts, incidentally, still had license to dribble forward, play a one-two and find himself through on goal in the first half. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025

Puma Arizona Sneakers Lightweight sneakers are ideal for travel, and incidentally, a slimmer fit is trending this season. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 12 Sep. 2025

The number of customer cars, incidentally, was chosen because the two drivers who won the Driver’s Championship in All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship in 1996, John Nielsen and David Brabham, raced with number 61. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 11 Sep. 2025

Both examples, incidentally, highlight the fact that a war’s name may differ from place to place. —Esther Brito Ruiz, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for incidentally

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

Kids Definition

incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈdent-ᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner

discusses the problem only incidentally

2

: apart from that : by the way

a one-room school—still standing, incidentally—which was painted red