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

Pete eventually concedes, and Donna leaves — but not before Pete accidentally reveals that Natalie is pregnant, not realizing that Natalie never told her mother the news. —Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 26 June 2024

Triggered by varied stresses and everyday anxieties, the five accidentally activate their differing powers — which all start with a flash of orange in their pupils. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 26 June 2024

Check your cartons before purchasing to make sure none of the egg shells accidentally cracked. —Ashia Aubourg, SELF, 25 June 2024

Rare moments when history was accidentally captured on camera For a long time, important events could only be visualized retroactively through paintings. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing accidentally

• accidentally on purpose