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

The measure accidentally erased Measure J from the charter through a clerical error. —Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 4 May 2026

The show follows a couple who accidentally wander into Schmigadoon, a town where every day is a musical and the only bridge to escape leads to nowhere. —Caroline Killilea, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026

In short, this step ensures the mission doesn't accidentally carry any hitchhiking microorganisms to Mars. —Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 1 May 2026

Last year, the number of officers killed decreased, both in terms of officers killed as a result of felonious acts and those killed accidentally. —Kenneth D. Robinson, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026

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