ENGLISH
REFERENCE

alphabetically

adv. manner
B1 Intermediate US //ˌæɫfəˈbɛtɪkɫi// UK //ˌælfəbˈɛtɪkli// al·pha·bet·i·cal·ly

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.


SIMPLE

The teacher listed the students' names alphabetically.

CONTEXTUAL

The librarian spent the afternoon organizing the new fiction section alphabetically by the author's last name.

COMPLEX

To ensure fairness during the roll call, the administrator decided to process the applications alphabetically rather than by the date they were received.

Origin

From alphabetical + -ly.

Usage

Typically follows the verb it modifies or the noun phrase it describes.

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