What does “incidental” mean?
- 1
adjectivehappening as a minor part of something more important
The money is incidental; I do this job because I love it.
- 2
adjective(of costs) small and in addition to the main costs
The budget includes a small amount for incidental expenses.
Incidental at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective
- CEFR level
- C1 (advanced)
- Pronunciation
- /ˌɪnsəˈdɛntəl/ · in-suh-DEN-tul
How to use “incidental” correctly
The adverb “incidentally” is a common way to add a side point, meaning “by the way”.
Common phrases with “incidental”
- incidental expenses
- incidental to
- incidental music
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- minor
- secondary
- peripheral
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
- essential
- central
Word family
- incidentally
- incident
“incidental” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- nominal adjectiveC1existing in name only, not in reality
- partial adjectiveC1not complete; only part of something
- comprehensive adjectiveB2including everything or nearly everything that is relevant; complete
- constant adjectiveB2happening all the time or again and again
- constitute verbC1to be or be considered as something
- dense adjectiveB2with many things or people very close together
- horde nounC1a very large crowd of people, often noisy or hard to control
- modest adjectiveB2not talking much about your own abilities or achievements