By accident means without intending to, or without planning. It is used about actions done without meaning to (I broke the glass by accident) and about finds or meetings that nobody planned.
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do something + by accident; find/meet + by accident; by accident (not by an accident); accidentally
- I sent the email to the whole department by accident instead of just my manager.
- We found this quiet beach by accident while we were looking for a petrol station.
- Sorry, I took your umbrella by accident; it looks exactly like mine.
What changed
First versionYesterday I broke my colleague's mug occasionally.
RevisionYesterday I broke my colleague's mug by accident.
Occasionally can look like a word for something that happens by chance, but it means sometimes, from time to time: I occasionally work from home. For something that happens without meaning to, use by accident. Occasionally was changed to by accident.
By chance overlaps in meaning: you can meet an old friend by chance or by accident. But for an unintended action or a mistake, use by accident: I deleted the file by accident. The opposite is on purpose, meaning deliberately: Did you do it on purpose?
Your turn
I found this great little bookshop completely ___ when I got lost in the old town.
Show the answer
by accident — The speaker found the bookshop without any plan while lost in the old town, so by accident is right. In an accident means during a crash or another harmful event: He was hurt in an accident. There was no crash here.
Think of something you did without meaning to at work, in your studies or at home. Say what happened and how you fixed it.
Last week I deleted an important spreadsheet by accident, so I restored it from the previous day's backup.
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