exact
Americanadjective
-
strictly accurate or correct.
an exact likeness; an exact description.
- Antonyms:
- imprecise
-
precise, as opposed to approximate.
the exact sum; the exact date.
- Antonyms:
- imprecise
-
admitting of no deviation, as laws or discipline; strict or rigorous.
-
capable of the greatest precision.
exact instruments.
-
characterized by or using strict accuracy.
an exact thinker.
- Synonyms:
- scrupulous, demanding, punctilious, careful, methodical
-
Mathematics. (of a differential equation) noting that the collection of all terms, equated to zero, is an exact differential.
verb (used with object)
-
exacts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
exacted,
past participle, past
-
exacting
present participle
-
to call for, demand, or require.
to exact respect from one's children.
-
to force or compel the payment, yielding, or performance of.
to exact money; to exact tribute from a conquered people.
- Synonyms:
- wring
adjective
-
correct in every detail; strictly accurate
an exact copy
-
precise, as opposed to approximate; neither more nor less
the exact sum
-
(prenominal) specific; particular
this exact spot
-
operating with very great precision
exact instruments
-
allowing no deviation from a standard; rigorous; strict
an exact mind
-
based mainly on measurement and the formulation of laws, as opposed to description and classification
physics is an exact science
verb
-
to force or compel (payment or performance); extort
to exact tribute
-
to demand as a right; insist upon
to exact respect from one's employees
-
to call for or require
this work exacts careful effort
Synonym Usage
See extract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
exacternoun
-
exactnessnoun
-
exactornoun
-
exactableadjective
-
nonexactableadjective
-
preexactadjective
-
quasi-exactadjective
-
unexactedadjective
-
quasi-exactlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exactsimple
-
exactssimple
-
have exactedperfect
-
has exactedperfect
-
am exactingprogressive
-
are exactingprogressive
-
is exactingprogressive
-
have been exactingperfect progressive
-
has been exactingperfect progressive
Past
-
exactedsimple
-
had exactedperfect
-
was exactingprogressive
-
were exactingprogressive
-
had been exactingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exact
First recorded in 1525–45; late Middle English exacten (verb), from Latin exāctus (past participle of exigere “drive out, thrust out”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + ag(ere) “to drive” + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
If something's exact, it's precise and completely accurate — as opposed to a guess, an estimate, or an approximation. Exact also has the meaning of taking something from someone, often money, and generally only given up with reluctance under the threat of force. The Mob might exact a shakedown from unfortunate businessmen, for example. The word comes from the Latin exactus "exact or accurate," a form of the verb exigere — meaning "to force out or demand," like the Mob demanding its money.
Vocabulary lists containing exact
The Merchant of Venice
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Common Core Grade 5, List 7
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The collective efforts of the readers helped them get six correct results, with two exact scores, for 120 points.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Back when they had been doing this exact work, there was another landmark women’s rights battle that had been won just 50 years prior as well: the suffragists’ fight for the right to vote.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is causing glaciers to melt worldwide, heightening the risk of such disasters.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Word-of-mouth for her sophomore novel “The Immortalists,” about a quartet of siblings who all learn the exact date of their future deaths, was uncontainable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
He narrowed his eyes at me, and for a gut-wrenching heartbeat, I was sure that he was going to do the exact opposite just to spite me.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
That all-important cold chain exacts a cost from growers and distributors as well.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Eliot’s failure at anything like full compliance with Claire’s wishes exacts a price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
As Aldrich saw it, the screening inequity had the potential to worsen the already staggering toll that lung cancer exacts in Black communities.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2024
As is true for many things online — bullying, disinformation, conspiracy theories — when something is easy and “free,” it usually exacts a terrible, if largely hidden, cost.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
But Belafonte’s celebrity exacted a toll, as he documented in a late-life autobiography that Mr. Jelly-Schapiro draws on heavily.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Well, there are numerous contemporaneous examples of reparation payments exacted by European states, so you tell me.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
It is unclear if payments are being exacted under the new system.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Investor morale is now at its lowest point since December 2022, in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine as surging energy costs exacted a heavy toll on German manufacturers.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
She went through the world and exacted an oath from everything, all things with life and without life, never to do him harm.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The good news is, per Gifford, that there are less generalized models out there that are tailored to much more exacting needs.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
His reputation as an exacting director precedes him.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Anderson’s use of far-flung needle drops and lovely original score work is, like everything in his film universe, planned down to exacting detail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
"This action supports the welfare of American children by exacting real consequences for child support delinquency under existing federal law," the department said in a statement.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Other girls proudly wrote out their exacting routines of work and study to astound their loving parents.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
