How to Use word for word in a Sentence

word for word

adverb
  • Preller can still recite the sales pitch, word for word.
    Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Aug. 2022
  • Gandalf utters this line, word for word, to the hobbits in The Fellowship of the Ring.
    Eliana Dockterman, Time, 14 Oct. 2022
  • Anderson pays homage by sticking to the script word for word.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Joseph’s singing-rapping was matched word for word by the audience through most of it all.
    Chris Varias, Cincinnati.com, 23 Oct. 2019
  • But not all the questions are translated word for word.
    Jennie Rothenberg Gritz, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 May 2023
  • Note that all of these caveats can be applied, word for word, to Putin’s current effort in Ukraine.
    Andrew L. Stigler, Twin Cities, 7 Jan. 2024
  • The entire crowd — the whole stadium — was alive with song, singing the song back to Stapleton word for word.
    Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 3 Nov. 2019
  • Shouts of encouragement from the upper row could be heard word for word.
    John Whisler, San Antonio Express-News, 18 Dec. 2021
  • The Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.
    Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2010
  • In both season one and season two, there's very little that is word for word, or even scene for scene coming from the books.
    Emily Burack, Town & Country, 31 Mar. 2022
  • For the most part, though, Scott's critics just ignored that Harris had agreed point for point, and sometimes word for word, with him.
    Ramesh Ponnuru Bloomberg Opinion, Star Tribune, 10 June 2021
  • Eagles players danced and rapped the song word for word before blowing out the Vikings in the N.F.C. championship game.
    Kris Rhim, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2023
  • Below, word for word, is Buranelli's story from the old Gazette (so, these are not my words).
    Celia Storey, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022
  • The danger in memorizing your entire talk word for word is that you’re bound to mess up.
    Andrea Heuston, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
  • How many of us can recite those memes about never having friends to travel with word for word?
    Danielle Pointdujour, Essence, 17 July 2019
  • The account appeared again almost word for word in The Innocents Abroad, the 1869 book that made Twain famous.
    John J. Miller, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020
  • That dude spit out that dialogue word for word, perfect.
    Scott Huver, CNN, 14 Oct. 2019
  • In 2015, close to the end of his presidency, Mugabe read the same state-of-the-nation speech to Parliament, word for word, twice in three weeks.
    Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2019
  • Namely, the incandescent sound of Mitchell singing harmonies — word for word — into the back of my head.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2021
  • In June 2020, a Twitter account began tweeting it out, word for word.
    Tim Diovanni, Dallas News, 9 Sep. 2021
  • But to hear people on Instagram screaming the entire song, word for word ?
    Annie Noelker, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2022
  • For the first time ever, the entire New Testament of the Bible will be spoken aloud word for word, by memory, on stage.
    Brittany Kasko, Fox News, 10 Oct. 2022
  • This blueberry exemption in the Illinois bill is the exact same provision, word for word, as the one found in the Maine bill.
    Patrick Gleason, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2022
  • Ginsburg writes, quoting word for word from Kennedy’s opinion.
    Cristian Farias, Daily Intelligencer, 1 June 2018
  • He got busted plagiarizing in law school, five straight pages, word for word.
    Fox News Staff, Fox News, 9 Feb. 2023
  • The voter then scrolls down and reads the candidate promising exactly what the voter wants to see, word for word, in a tailored tone.
    David E. Clementson, The Conversation, 21 July 2023
  • The memo repeats almost word for word one the OMB issued in 2013, in advance of the last partial government shutdown.
    Eric Yoder, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2018
  • But his rationale, almost word for word, mirrors that of his competitor just up the road.
    al, 21 Aug. 2021
  • That means taking close to two million image files and transcribing word for word all of the other data.
    Allison Keyes, Smithsonian, 8 Feb. 2018
  • Both draw capacity audiences to their concerts, where many fans sing along, word for word.
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'word for word.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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