accidentally

[ ak-si-den-tl-ee ]

adverb

1. by chance or mistake; in a way that is not planned or intended:

   If you break your key, whether accidentally or on purpose, there is a $40 charge to replace it.

2. in a nonessential or subsidiary way; incidentally:

   Philosophy is essentially a vocation, and only accidentally a profession.

Other Words From

• non·ac·ci·den·tal·ly adverb
• pre·ac·ci·den·tal·ly adverb
• pseu·do·ac·ci·den·tal·ly adverb
• qua·si-ac·ci·den·tal·ly adverb
• un·ac·ci·den·tal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of accidentally¹

accidental ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Last December, dozens of students sued the government after teachers accidentally cut their test short by 90 seconds.

From BBC

I think it’s something that we accidentally fell into here.

From Salon

A house fire that killed two people in Coventry was started accidentally, a fire service has said.

From BBC

I kind of accidentally got into culinary school.

From Salon

The 1992 film sees Todd's character accidentally summoned to the real world by a graduate student in Chicago intrigued by the urban legend of the Candyman, setting off a chain of murderous events.

From BBC

Related Words

• unintentionally
• unwittingly

How Do You Spell Accidentally?

Spelling tips for accidentally

The word accidentally is hard to spell because it can be hard to remember which letters are doubled and which are not. To add to the confusion, there are two possible spellings of accidentally. While less common, accidently is also an acceptable spelling of the word.

How to spell accidentally: It’s no accident that many animals have two eyes to see (C) And two ears to Listen (L). This reminds you that the letters c and l are doubled in accidentally, with an a in between.