incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner : not intentionally

the arrant nonsense of some of his statements is incidentally hilarious

—John Lahr

2

: by way of interjection or digression : by the way

fortunate in having a good teacher … —still living, incidentally

—John Fischer

Synonyms

• apropos
• en passant

Examples of incidentally in a Sentence

Not incidentally, the market slump was followed by widespread layoffs.

incidentally, have you seen the new building they're putting up?

Recent Examples on the Web

The case, incidentally, can be charged wirelessly in addition to the USB-C port. —Christopher Null, WIRED, 14 Feb. 2025

Clearly, Americans were much more motivated by the price of eggs—which, incidentally, have only continued to skyrocket—than Musk's impulsive antics. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025

My friend, incidentally, chose to speak on background despite his years of public criticism of Trump, noting that a think tank with which he is affiliated receives government contracts. —Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2025

The lifestyle push incidentally coincided with the launch of the brand’s seminal fashion collection, for which Vespa recruited an experienced team of designers, but Zanolini described it as a platform for experimentation across different fields. —Martino Carrera, WWD, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈdent-ᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner

discusses the problem only incidentally

2

: apart from that : by the way

a one-room school—still standing, incidentally—which was painted red