fact

[fakt] /fækt/

noun

something that actually exists; reality; truth:

Your fears have no basis in fact.

something known to exist or to have happened:

Space travel is now a fact.

a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true:

Scientists gather facts about plant growth.

something said to be true or supposed to have happened:

The facts given by the witness are highly questionable.

Law.. Often, facts. an actual or alleged event or circumstance, as distinguished from its legal effect or consequence.

Compare question of fact, question of law.

Idioms

after the fact, Law. after the commission of a crime:

an accessory after the fact.

before the fact, Law. prior to the commission of a crime:

an accessory before the fact.

in fact, actually; really; indeed:

In fact, it was a wonder that anyone survived.

Origin

1530-40; < Latin factum something done, deed, noun use of neuter of factus done, past participle of facere to do¹

Related forms

factful, adjective

Can be confused

facts, FAQs, fax.

Examples from the web for fact

In the sea this is borne out by the observed fact that highly productive upwelling areas are more acidic.
Pop psych lore is a bewildering mix of fact and fallacy.
In fact, being light-hearted boosted blood flow about the same amount as light exercise or drugs that lower cholesterol.
The former fact has been used extensively in the study of how certain drugs affect the sympathetic nervous system.
In fact, many plants have evolved such compounds as a protective mechanism against foraging animals.
One problem lies in the fact that the camera that identifies the fluorescing firefly protein in mice cannot be used in humans.
In fact, the answer is far more profound than it appears.
Yet this genetic fact has led to some divergent conclusions.
One fact regarding this claim needs to be clarified right away.
In fact, the researchers did not find any trace of the gene variant in their samples.

British Dictionary definitions for fact

fact

/fækt/

noun

an event or thing known to have happened or existed

a truth verifiable from experience or observation

a piece of information: get me all the facts of this case

(law) (often pl) an actual event, happening, etc, as distinguished from its legal consequences. Questions of fact are decided by the jury, questions of law by the court or judge

(philosophy) a proposition that may be either true or false, as contrasted with an evaluative statement

(criminal law) after the fact, after the commission of the offence: an accessory after the fact

(criminal law) before the fact, before the commission of the offence

as a matter of fact, in fact, in point of fact, in reality or actuality

fact of life, an inescapable truth, esp an unpleasant one

10.

the fact of the matter, the truth

Derived Forms

factful, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Latin factum something done, from factus made, from facere to make

Word Origin and History for fact

1530s, "action," especially "evil deed," from Latin factum "event, occurrence," literally "thing done," neuter past participle of facere "to do" (see factitious). Usual modern sense of "thing known to be true" appeared 1630s, from notion of "something that has actually occurred." Facts of life "harsh realities" is from 1854; specific sense of "human sexual functions" first recorded 1913.

fact in Technology

Fully Automated Compiling Technique

artificial intelligence, programming
The kind of clause used in logic programming which has no subgoals and so is always true (always succeeds). E.g.
wet(water). male(denis).
This is in contrast to a rule which only succeeds if all its subgoals do. Rules usually contain logic variables, facts rarely do, except for oddities like "equal(X,X).".
(1996-10-20)

Idioms and Phrases with fact

fact

In addition to the idiom beginning with

fact

also see: