exactly

adverb

ex·​act·​ly ig-ˈzak-(t)lē How to pronounce exactly (audio)
1
a
: in a manner or measure or to a degree or number that strictly conforms to a fact or condition
it's exactly 3 o'clock
these two pieces are exactly the same size
b
: in every respect : altogether, entirely
that was exactly the wrong thing to do
not exactly what I had in mind
2
: quite so
used to express agreement

Example Sentences

The levers need to be exactly positioned. we will meet at exactly six o'clock
Recent Examples on the Web On this week’s Beat Check, The Oregonian/OregonLive’s deputy politics editor, Jamie Goldberg, explains what exactly went wrong at the shelter and what the county plans to do to fix the problem. oregonlive, 6 Mar. 2023 What exactly the splits should be will depend on both your time horizon and risk tolerance. Jeanne Sahadi, CNN, 6 Mar. 2023 And that's exactly what folks are going to be looking for in '24. NBC News, 5 Mar. 2023 That’s exactly what the Cyclones did with their 73-58 win at Baylor Saturday. Lindsay Schnell, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2023 And in roughly 20 or so minutes of answering questions from King or fans in attendance, Steichen got a chance to show Colts fans exactly what Ballard has seen so far. The Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2023 What exactly does this sophisticated AI want to do instead of diligently answering our questions? Jeremy Dauber, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2023 No one knows exactly what the Handle is, just that someone is going to sell it to the highest billionaire bidder. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2023 But starting sometime around the spring of last year, that’s exactly what happened. André-naquian Wheeler, Vogue, 3 Mar. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exactly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of exactly was in 1612

Dictionary Entries Near exactly

Cite this Entry

“Exactly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exactly. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

exactly

adverb
ex·​act·​ly ig-ˈzak-(t)lē How to pronounce exactly (audio)
1
a
: in an exact manner
do exactly as you're told
b
: so as to match fact or a state
at exactly three o'clock
exactly the same size
c
: in every way : altogether
that was exactly the wrong thing to do
not exactly what I had in mind
2
: quite so : just as you say
used to express agreement

More from Merriam-Webster on exactly

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