Accurate means correct, exact and free from mistakes: accurate information, an accurate translation. It describes facts, figures and descriptions, not how neat a person is. Someone who keeps things in order is tidy or neat, and when you want someone to handle something gently, the word is careful: Be careful!
accurate: will you get the meaning right?
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accurate + information/figures/translation/forecast; be accurate; measure/describe + something + accurately; a tidy/neat person, be careful (not accurate)
- Please check that all the figures in the report are accurate before you send it.
- The weather forecast was accurate: it started raining at exactly three o'clock.
- My translation was accurate, but my teacher said it sounded unnatural.
What changed
First versionShe is a very accurate person and always keeps her desk clean.
RevisionShe is a very tidy person and always keeps her desk clean.
In some languages a similar-looking word means “neat” or “careful”, which leads to sentences like She is a very accurate person. In English accurate means “correct”: accurate figures, an accurate answer. For a person who keeps everything in its place, use tidy or neat. Nothing else in the sentence had to change.
Precise can also mean “exact”, but it stresses detail and clarity: precise instructions. When asking someone to be more specific, people usually say Can you be more precise? Accurate is the choice when the point is being true to the facts: accurate figures are figures without mistakes.
Your turn
Be ___ with that box: there are glass cups inside.
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careful — There are glass cups in the box, so the speaker is asking for gentle handling: Be careful. Accurate means “correct, without mistakes” and has nothing to do with handling things with care.
Describe a time when it was important to get figures or facts right: at work, in your studies or on a trip. Say what exactly you checked.
Before booking our trip, I made sure the flight times on the website were accurate, because one mistake could cost us a whole day.
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