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

• apropos
• en passant

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

Similarly, the communications of Americans are incidentally monitored in foreign surveillance, and are stored in a database. —The Editors, National Review, 12 Apr. 2024

The focus of privacy advocates has turned almost entirely to an amendment that aims to force the FBI and other agencies to apply for a warrant before accessing the communications of Americans incidentally captured by the US under the 702 program. —Condé Nast, WIRED, 10 Apr. 2024

Vergennes and Chaumont are, incidentally, much more complicated figures in this particular exchange than Franklin seems to be, but most viewers won’t be able to tell them apart from a half-dozen other sour-faced Frenchies. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024

Taylor Swift is dropping her new album, The Tortured Poets Department on April 19, which is 13 days from now, and also incidentally a number, which carries a lot of significance for her. —Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2024

Mikolas, incidentally, will make $16 million this year on a team that will rank in the top 10 in payroll, so the Dodgers aren’t the only bunch with a checkbook. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024

All of these, incidentally, are problems that will prove particularly excruciating for urban drivers who cannot easily charge their cars at home. —The Editors, National Review, 22 Mar. 2024

Collared Merino Wool-Blend Sweater, $99 (originally $138) Lululemon Scuba Oversized Half-Zip Hoodie Best Aritzia Long Weekend Deals Aritzia excels in the market of elevated basics, which incidentally happen to be the ideal pieces to style for a long day of traveling. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2024

That, incidentally, is where Kimmel works best as host. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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