exact

English

Etymology

From Old French, from Medieval Latin exactare, reg., from Latin exactus, perfect passive participle of exigō (“demand, claim as due" or "measure by a standard, weigh, test”), from ex (“out”) + agō (“drive”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪɡˈzækt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ækt

Adjective

exact (comparative more exact, superlative most exact)

1. Precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or the truth; perfectly conforming; neither exceeding nor falling short in any respect.

   The clock keeps exact time.

   He paid the exact debt.

   an exact copy of a letter

   exact accounts

2. Habitually careful to agree with a standard, a rule, or a promise; accurate; methodical; punctual.

   a man exact in observing an appointment

   In my doings I was exact.

   • John Milton (1608-1674)

     I see thou art exact of taste.

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond

     During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]

3. Precisely or definitely conceived or stated; strict.
   • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

     An exact command, / Larded with many several sorts of reason.

4. (algebra, of a sequence of groups connected by homomorphisms) Such that the kernel of one homomorphism is the image of the preceding one.

Synonyms

• (precisely agreeing): perfect, true, correct, precise
• (precisely or definitely conceived or stated): strict
• spot on

Antonyms

• (precisely agreeing): inexact, imprecise, approximate
• (precisely or definitely conceived or stated): loose

Derived terms

• exactly
• exactness
• exact sequence

Translations

precisely agreeing

• American Sign Language: SmallO@NearTipThumb-PalmDown-SmallO@CenterChesthigh-PalmUp CirclesSurface Contact
• Arabic: مَضْبُوط‎‎ (maḍbūṭ), دَقِيق‎‎ (ar) (daqīq)
• Armenian: ճիշտ (hy) (čišt)
• Azerbaijani: dəqiq (az)
• Belarusian: дакладны (dakládny)
• Bulgarian: точен (bg) (tóčen), прецизен (bg) (precízen)
• Catalan: exacte (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 正確 (zh), 正确 (zh) (zhèngquè), 準確 (zh), 准确 (zh) (zhǔnquè), 精密 (zh) (jīngmì)

• Dutch: exact (nl), precies (nl)
• Esperanto: ekzakta
• Estonian: täpne (et)
• Finnish: tarkka (fi), eksakti (fi), täsmällinen (fi)
• French: exact (fr) m, précis (fr) m
• Georgian: ზუსტი (zusṭi)
• German: exakt (de), genau (de)
• Greek: ακριβής (el) (akrivís)
• Indonesian: akurat (id)
• Irish: cruinn, baileach, beacht
• Italian: esatto (it)
• Japanese: 正確な (ja) (せいかくな, seikaku na), 精密な (ja) (せいみつな, seimitsu na), 詳しい (ja) (くわしい, kuwashii)
• Khmer: ត្រឹម (km) (trəm)

• Korean: 정확한 (ko) (jeonghwak-han)
• Latvian: precīzs
• Lithuanian: tikslus (lt)
• Macedonian: точен (tóčen), прецизен (précizen)
• Norman: juste
• Novial: exakti
• Persian: دقیق‎‎ (fa) (daqiq)
• Polish: dokładny (pl)
• Portuguese: exato (pt)
• Russian: то́чный (ru) (tóčnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: точан, тачан, прецизан

  Roman: točan (sh), tačan (sh), precizan (sh)

• Slovak: presný
• Slovene: natančen
• Spanish: exacto (es)
• Swedish: exakt (sv)
• Tagalog: singkad, sayap
• Turkish: dakik (tr)
• Ukrainian: то́чний (uk) (tóčnyj), докла́дний (dokládnyj)
• Welsh: union (cy)

habitually careful

• Bulgarian: акуратен (bg) (akuráten)
• Catalan: precís (ca)
• Dutch: exact (nl), precies (nl)
• Finnish: tarkka (fi), eksakti (fi), täsmällinen (fi)
• German: exakt (de), genau (de)

• Italian: esatto (it)
• Portuguese: rigoroso (pt)
• Russian: аккура́тный (ru) (akkurátnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: pongail
• Spanish: exacto (es)

precisely conceived or stated

• American Sign Language: SmallO@NearTipThumb-PalmDown-SmallO@CenterChesthigh-PalmUp CirclesSurface Contact
• Bulgarian: верен (bg) (véren)
• Catalan: exacte (ca)
• Dutch: exact (nl), precies (nl)
• Finnish: tarkka (fi), eksakti (fi), täsmällinen (fi)
• German: exakt (de)

• Maori: pū
• Portuguese: exato (pt)
• Russian: ве́рный (ru) (vérnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: pongail
• Spanish: exacto (es)
• Tagalog: sayap

such that kernel equals image

Verb

exact (third-person singular simple present exacts, present participle exacting, simple past and past participle exacted)

1. (transitive) To demand and enforce the payment or performance of, sometimes in a forcible or imperative way.

   to exact tribute, fees, or obedience from someone.

   • Bible, Luke iii. 13

     He said into them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

2. (transitive) To make desirable or necessary.
   • Massinger

     My designs exact me in another place.

3. (transitive) To forcibly obtain or produce.

   to exact revenge on someone.

Usage notes

• Often used with prepositions from or on.

Derived terms

• exactable
• exacter
• exacting
• exactor

Translations

To demand and enforce

• Bulgarian: изисквам (bg) (iziskvam)
• French: exiger (fr)
• Italian: esigere (it), pretendere (it)
• Ngazidja Comorian: uɗai (udai)

• Portuguese: exigir (pt)
• Spanish: exigir (es)
• Ukrainian: стягати (stjahaty)

To make desirable or necessary

• Ido: necesigar (io)

• Portuguese: requerer (pt)

To forcibly obtain or produce

• Portuguese: obter (pt)
• Spanish: exigir (es)

• Ukrainian: домагатися (domahatysja)

Adverb

exact (comparative more exact, superlative most exact)

1. exactly

1. She's wearing the exact same sweater as I am!

Further reading

• exact in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• exact in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• exact at OneLook Dictionary Search

---

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɡ.zakt/, (old-fashioned) /ɛɡ.za/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

exact (feminine singular exacte, masculine plural exacts, feminine plural exactes)

1. exact; precise

Further reading

• “exact” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French exact.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɡˈzakt/

Adjective

exact m, n (feminine singular exactă, masculine plural exacți, feminine and neuter plural exacte)

1. exact, precise

Declension

declension of exact

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	exact		exactă	exacți	exacte
	definite	exactul		exacta	exacții	exactele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	exact		exacte	exacți	exacte
	definite	exactului		exactei	exacților	exactelor

Adverb

exact

1. exactly, precisely

See also

• precis