Meaning & use
daily
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Happening, done or published once every day.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a daily walk.
Patterns
- a daily routine
- daily news
She takes a daily walk along the river.
The museum offers daily tours at noon.
A daily dose of vitamin D is recommended.
adjectivebefore a noun
Relating to ordinary everyday life or one day's work.
Grammar: Fixed combinations like daily life or daily wage.
Patterns
- daily life
- daily wage
Daily life in the village is slow and quiet.
He earned a daily wage on the farm.
adverbnot comparable
Every day, or once a day.
Grammar: Comes after the verb: take it daily.
Patterns
- take something daily
- updated daily
The pills must be taken daily.
The website is updated daily.
The shop is open daily from nine.
nouncountable
A newspaper published every day.
Grammar: Often in the plural: the national dailies.
Patterns
- a national daily
She writes for a national daily.
The local daily ran a story about the fire.
Word forms
| plural | dailies |
|---|
Common combinations
- daily routine
- Exercise is part of my daily routine.
- daily basis
- We check the system on a daily basis.
- daily life
- Plastic is everywhere in daily life.
- twice daily
- Use the cream twice daily.
- daily newspaper
- He reads the daily newspaper with breakfast.
- daily dose
- A daily dose of sunshine lifts her mood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- everyday
- Everyday means ordinary or common, while daily means occurring each day.
- diurnal
- Diurnal is a scientific word for happening in daytime or each day and is not used in conversation.
- day-to-day
- Day-to-day describes routine matters from one day to the next, with less emphasis on exact frequency.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: daily or everyday?
daily vs everyday
Everyday is an adjective meaning ordinary, as in everyday clothes, while every day is two words meaning each day.
Practice
Which sentence uses daily as an adverb?
Choose one answer.
In the first sentence daily modifies the verb phrase and means every day. In the others it is an adjective or a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “daily”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.