Adverb
you don't have to record the professor's comments word for word in your notes
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Adjective
Harrison has also started singing again, reciting word-for-word the lyrics of old 1970s hits.—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2026 Others expect students to parrot their notes word-for-word on the exam.—Gerald Bradshaw, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2026
Adverb
The song relays, word for word, a story by his three-year-old daughter about a girl who won’t stop wiggling.—John Kenney, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026 Some Grokipedia entries, such as the one for Monday, appear to be word for word the same as the corresponding Wikipedia entries.—David Ingram, NBC news, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for word-for-word