Word by word or Word for word
Word by word means one word at a time. It means checking every word or going through every word. It is normally used when we want to check for anomalies in a proposal or contract etc.
E.g.We went through the contract word by word to ensure that everything was the way we wanted.
Or, we compared the composition word by word to see how they were different from each other.
Word for word means in exactly the same words that were originally used or verbatim.
E.g.He copied the entire essay, word for word, from his friend Mohit’s essay.
Or, She was able to copy word for word from the test paper in front of her.
Test your understanding - Choose the correct sentence from the pair of sentences given below1.
a. During the play, he was able to repeat the whole script word for word without requiring a prompter.
b. During the play, he was able to repeat the whole script word by word without requiring a prompter.
View Answer / Hide Answer2.
a. Parv was reading the tender application word for word to see if he understood what was required.
b. Parv was reading the tender application word by word to see if he understood what was required.
View Answer / Hide Answer3.
a. She had copied her friend’s response to the question word by word.
b. She had copied her friend’s response to the question word for word.
View Answer / Hide Answer4.
a. After just a glance at the paper, she was able to recount the whole paragraph word for word.
b. After just a glance at the paper, she was able to recount the whole paragraph word by word.
View Answer / Hide Answer5.
a. Sohan and Mohan were twins. Whenever mother asked them a question, both answered it by speaking word for word. It was uncanny.
b. Sohan and Mohan were twins. Whenever mother asked them a question, both answered it by speaking word by word. It was uncanny.
View Answer / Hide Answer
