# in fact

idiom · CEFR A1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/in-fact
Updated: 2026-04-22

## Meaning

You use this phrase to add more detail to what you just said, or to say what is really true. It is similar to 'actually' or 'in reality'.

## Examples

- I like fruit; in fact, I eat apples every day.
- He is not angry; in fact, he is very happy with your work.
- The store is not closed; in fact, it stays open until midnight.
- The movie was not boring at all; in fact, it was the most exciting film I have seen this year.
- The hotel room was not just clean; in fact, it looked like nobody had ever stayed there before.
- I thought the exam would be difficult, but in fact, I finished all the questions twenty minutes early.
- She does not just speak French; in fact, she grew up in Paris and speaks it perfectly.
- Many people assume that the project will be finished by Friday, but in fact, the team has encountered several unexpected delays that will push the deadline back.

## Origin

From the noun *fact*, which originally denoted a deed or action in the sense now preserved only in legal contexts. The idiom is perhaps a calque of the French *en fait*. (disputed)

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