fact

The word “fact” means something known to be true, based on evidence rather than opinion or invention. In plain terms, something that is objectively true and verifiable, as opposed to an opinion or a guess.

“Fact” is pronounced fakt (/fækt/ in IPA).

Here is “fact” used in a sentence: “The report separates fact from speculation.”

The opposite of “fact” — its antonyms — are antonym(s) of and opinion.

“Fact” is a noun.

The word “fact” comes from Latin. From Latin factum, "a thing done or made," the past participle of facere, "to do." Doublet of "feat.".

“Fact” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Fact” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: something known to be true, based on evidence rather than opinion or invention.

A fact is something that can be shown to be true with evidence, like water boiling at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level. An opinion is a personal belief or judgement that cannot be proven, such as saying a film is boring. Facts stay the same for everyone; opinions vary from person to person.

A fact is a single observation known to be true, while a theory is a well-tested explanation that makes sense of many facts. In science, a theory is not a guess but a broad, evidence-backed framework. Facts are the building blocks; a theory is the structure built to explain why they occur.

A genuine fact does not change, but what we accept as fact can, when better evidence appears. People once treated the idea that the sun orbits the earth as fact until observation corrected it. So facts themselves are fixed truths; our knowledge of them simply improves as evidence grows.

'The Earth orbits the Sun' is a fact, because it can be verified through observation and measurement. So is 'Paris is the capital of France.' Each can be checked against evidence and holds true regardless of anyone's feelings about it, which is what separates a fact from a mere claim.