accidentally

adverb

ac·​ci·​dent·​al·​ly ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē  -ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

: in an accidental or unintended manner : by accident

I accidentally deleted the file.

The lock prevents the gate from opening accidentally.

Six lionfish were accidentally released from a home aquarium in Biscayne Bay, Fla., during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

—Alcestis Cooky Oberg

The Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.

—Christie Aschwanden

He bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]

Examples of accidentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Entry numbers are limited so guests taking the virtual tour don’t bump into each other–accidentally or otherwise. —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

Cutting staff from the IRS likely will not save money as the IRS is one department that largely pays its own way by recovering unpaid taxes from people who either accidentally or intentionally underpay. —The Denver Post Editorial Board, The Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2025

With widespread legalization of marijuana across the country, there have been numerous incidents in which children have accidentally ingested weed gummies. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 3 Mar. 2025

When Park Ranger Rose asks for construction help, Speed Meister accidentally ruins the bears’ home, leaving it up to the pups and Rocky to save the day. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for accidentally

• detrimentally
• fundamentally
• governmentally
• incidentally
• incrementally
• instrumentally
• sentimentally
• temperamentally
• coincidentally
• environmentally
• experimentally
• mentally