# exact

Pronunciation: say "ig-ZAKT" /ɪɡˈzækt/

## Adjective

1. Matching a fact, standard, or the truth in every detail, with nothing more or less.
   - Simple: Completely correct and matching something perfectly, with no mistakes or differences.
   - _The architect demanded the exact measurements before any material was cut._
   - _His account of the crash matched the exact sequence of events on the recording._
2. Always careful to keep to a rule, standard, or promise, and so accurate, methodical, and punctual in what one does.
   - Simple: Always careful to follow rules, keep promises, and do things correctly and on time.
   - _The bookkeeper was exact in every entry, never leaving a penny unaccounted for._
   - _An exact and methodical worker, he double-checked each step before moving on._
3. Clearly and strictly defined, whether in thought or in words.
   - Simple: Stated in a clear, strict way, with no room for doubt.
   - _Philosophers prize an exact statement of a problem over a vague one._
   - _The contract uses exact language so that no clause can be misread._
8. Of a sequence, with the kernel of each map equal to the image of the preceding map.
   - Simple: Said of a chain of math maps where each map's output is exactly what the next one sends to zero.
   - _The students proved that the sequence was exact at every term._
   - _An exact sequence guarantees that the image of one map matches the kernel of the next._
9. Of a functor, preserving short exact sequences.
   - Simple: In higher math, describing a function between objects that keeps short exact sequences unchanged.
   - _They checked whether the functor was exact before applying it._
   - _An exact functor sends short exact sequences to short exact sequences._

## Verb

4. To demand and enforce the payment or performance of something, sometimes forcibly or imperiously.
   - Simple: To force someone to pay or do something, sometimes in a harsh way.
   - _The warlord exacted tribute from every town along the river._
   - _Collectors exact payment whether the harvest was good or bad._
5. To make something desirable or necessary.
   - Simple: To make something needed or call for it.
   - _Such a delicate operation exacts great skill from the surgeon._
   - _The new safety rules exact constant attention from the crew._
6. To inflict something or forcibly bring it about; to visit upon.
   - Simple: To cause harm, loss, or suffering to fall on someone or something.
   - _The storm exacted a heavy toll on the coastal towns._
   - _Years of overwork exact a price from the body._

## Adverb

7. In a precise, conforming manner; exactly.
   - Simple: In a way that matches something perfectly, with nothing changed.
   - _She repeated the message exact, word for word._
   - _The craftsman fitted the joints exact, leaving no gap._

## Origin

From Latin exāctus (which reached English as the verb 'exact' via Middle English), the perfect passive participle of exigō ('demand, claim as due; measure by a standard, weigh, test'), formed from ex ('out') plus agō ('drive').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/exact (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).