Accurately

How to spell accurately

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce accurately

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does accurately mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is correct, precise, and free from error.

Accurately in a sentence

• The surveyor measured the boundary accurately before the fence was built.

• The new software records each transaction accurately in the ledger.

Where does accurately come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb accurare, meaning 'to do something with care', which was built from the prefix ad- 'to, towards' and the noun cura 'care or attention'. The past participle accuratus literally meant 'done carefully', and from there it came to describe something carried out so carefully that it was exact and free of error. English adopted the adjective 'accurate' in the late 1500s, and the adverb 'accurately' followed soon after by adding the standard -ly ending. The same Latin cura 'care' lies behind a whole family of familiar English words, including 'cure', 'curious', 'secure', and 'manicure'. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the doubled c followed by a single r, plus the unstressed -ate that softens to a schwa in speech, which is why writers often drop a letter.

How the word is built

• ac- (ad-: to, towards)
• cur (from Latin cura: care)
• -ate (adjective)
• -ly (adverb suffix)