accidentally
adverb
ac·ci·dent·al·ly
ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē 
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
-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
Alcestis Cooky ObergThe Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.—Christie Aschwanden
Christie AschwandenHe 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 investigation revealed Damarion accidentally shot Jonah inside the residence, per the three outlets.
—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
30 June 2026
Initially on Thursday, Newburyport officials said 60,000 gallons of wastewater were accidentally dumped into the river in Haverhill, which is upstream.
—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
28 June 2026
While doing the trick, the British singer appeared to accidentally choke on the remaining water in his mouth and fell to the ground, coughing.
—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
28 June 2026
After the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded during take off, killing all seven crewmembers on board, a lighthearted movie about five kids accidentally heading into orbit suddenly seemed rather less appealing.
—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
27 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for accidentally
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Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
30 June 2026
Initially on Thursday, Newburyport officials said 60,000 gallons of wastewater were accidentally dumped into the river in Haverhill, which is upstream.
—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
28 June 2026
While doing the trick, the British singer appeared to accidentally choke on the remaining water in his mouth and fell to the ground, coughing.
—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
28 June 2026
After the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded during take off, killing all seven crewmembers on board, a lighthearted movie about five kids accidentally heading into orbit suddenly seemed rather less appealing.
—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
27 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for accidentally
Cite this Entry
“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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