accurate
Exactly right, with no mistakes in it.
- Her map of the school was so accurate that we found the store cupboard at once.
- The clock in the hall is not accurate; it runs five minutes fast.
Similar: correct, exact, right
accurate or precise?
Accurate means right. Precise means right down to the last detail.
Both words describe getting something right, so children use them as a pair of twins. The difference is how much detail there is.
Accurate means correct, with no mistakes. If a friend asks what time it is and you say 'about half past three' when it is 3.28, your answer is accurate. It is true, even though it is not very detailed.
Precise means exact. '3.28' is precise. So is a recipe that says 115 grams of flour rather than 'a handful', or a science experiment measured to the nearest millimetre. Precise asks for exactness on top of being right, which is why maths and science questions so often use it.
Both words, side by side
precise
Exact and completely accurate.
- Follow the recipe with precise measurements, because one extra spoon of salt ruins the soup.
- A watchmaker must be precise, fitting each tiny cog exactly where it belongs.
Similar: exact, accurate, careful
Why it costs marks
In closest-meaning questions both words may be offered together. Knowing that precise adds exactness, while accurate simply means correct, helps a child pick the stronger match and understand instructions like 'give a precise answer' in maths.
Definitions and example sentences on this page are the ones a child sees inside Wordrealm, taken from our list of over 1,100 words. It is free to browse, with nothing to sign up for.
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test