daily

daily — adverb

1. on each day of the week; without missing a single day

1.adverbA2
Definition

on each day of the week; without missing a single day

Example

Yuna takes her dog for a walk in the park daily.

adverb after the verb phrase

The baker makes fresh sourdough bread daily for the regular customers.

position after the verb

Common collocations
  • almost daily
  • twice daily
  • once daily
Synonyms
  • every day

    more common in casual speech than 'daily'

  • each day

    slightly more formal, emphasises every single day

Usage Note

Can appear at the end of a clause (most common) or before the verb for emphasis: 'She daily walks five kilometres.'

Common Mistakes

I daily go to school by bus.
I go to school by bus daily.
In everyday English, 'daily' usually comes after the verb or at the end of the sentence, not between the subject and verb.

daily — noun

daily — adjective

Word family

  • day
    nounA1
  • dailies
    noun pluralB1
  • day-to-day
    adjectiveB2
  • everyday
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Daily', 'everyday', 'day-to-day', and 'routine' all relate to regular or repeated activities, but they are not interchangeable. 'Daily' is the most factual and time-specific — it literally means 'occurring each day' (a daily shower, a daily newspaper). 'Everyday' (one word) shifts focus from frequency to ordinariness: an everyday event is common or unremarkable, even if it does not happen every day. 'Day-to-day' emphasises the practical management of ongoing life, especially in work or organisational contexts (day-to-day operations, day-to-day decisions). 'Routine' describes something done in a fixed, habitual way and can apply to any time frame, not just daily. For example: taking a daily vitamin is about frequency; wearing everyday clothes is about being casual; handling day-to-day tasks is about running things; following a routine schedule is about habit.

daily ↗everyday ↗day-to-dayroutine ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • almost daily
  • twice daily
  • once daily
  • nearly daily

Phrases

  • on a daily basis

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'daily' comes from the Old English word 'dæġlīc', which was formed from 'dæġ' (day) plus the suffix '-līc' (-ly), meaning 'occurring every day'. The pattern of adding '-ly' to a time noun to make an adjective or adverb is common in English: weekly, monthly, yearly all follow the same structure. The modern spelling 'daily' appeared around the 1400s.