Word Adverb
alphabetically
adv.
manner
B1 Intermediate US /ˌæɫfəˈbɛtɪkɫi/ UK /ˌælfəbˈɛtɪkli/ al·pha·bet·i·cal·ly
Definition
adv.in the order of the letters of the alphabet. You use this when you organize a list starting with A and ending with Z.
adv.arranged or occurring in the order of the letters of the alphabet.
Examples
“The teacher listed the students' names alphabetically.”
“The librarian spent the afternoon organizing the new fiction section alphabetically by the author's last name.”
“To ensure fairness during the roll call, the administrator decided to process the applications alphabetically rather than by the date they were received.”
Usage
Typically follows the verb it modifies or the noun phrase it describes.
Etymology
From alphabetical + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
This entry
Level B1 · Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated