precisely

adverb

pre·​cise·​ly pri-ˈsīs-lē 

1

: in a precise manner : exactly

weighing ingredients precisely

This incremental adjustment is continued until the bubble is precisely centered.

—Barry F. Kavanagh

—often used to emphasize the precision of something (such as a measurement, time, description, etc.)

The sample weighed precisely 6 ounces.

We arrived at precisely two o'clock.

She always knows precisely what to do.

He was popular precisely because he was so kind.

She always woke at eight precisely.

—P. G. Wodehouse

It is precisely to counter this sort of "negative advertising" that the garbage industry has lately been working hard to change its image.

—Elizabeth Royte

2

: quite so

—used to confirm emphatically that what has been said or suggested is exactly correct

"So you think the system is outdated?" "Precisely."

Synonyms of precisely

• just
• right
• exactly

Examples of precisely in a Sentence

I feel precisely the same way as you do.

measured the length of the board precisely

Recent Examples on the Web

Those experiments included pellet fueling at high speed and bursts of microwave heating to keep the plasma hot, coordinated precisely to address the two most stubborn problems in fusion research. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Dec. 2025

But in a sense, that’s precisely why this project is working so well for China. —Andy Browne, semafor.com, 11 Dec. 2025

The biggest irony is that while Meghan and Harry don’t trust him, that’s precisely how the royals view them. —Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025

But the star’s storms were messing with the GPS systems on John Deere’s precision agricultural equipment, which uses geographic guidance to help farmers precisely plant, spray and harvest crops. —Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 10 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for precisely

• concisely
• nicely