Commonly Confused Words: Everyday vs. Every Day

Should I use everyday or every day?

If you want to describe something that is ‘common’ or ‘ordinary’, use everyday. Click here for the full Spellzone dictionary definition of the word.

Here is this adjective used in some example sentences:

He was responsible for the everyday household chores like vacuuming and washing up while she took care of the garden.
Everyone else was dressed up and I stood out in my everyday jeans and jumper.
You can buy everyday items like milk and bread at the corner shop.

Click here to find Spellzone vocabulary lists related to the word everyday.

Every day means ‘daily’.

Here is every day used in some example sentences:

He did the vacuuming and washing up every day.
It rained every day for a year.
She made an effort to improve her spellings by practising on Spellzone every day.

When were the words every and day first joined together?

Everyday has been used in English since the 1630s. It was originally used to describe clothing that was worn on ‘ordinary days’ rather than on Sundays or religious days. By 1763 the word was used more broadly as a synonym for ‘common’.

Are there any tricks to help remember the difference between everyday and every day?

Some people find it helpful to think of every day as another way of saying each day. Let’s see what happens to our first group of example sentences if we replace the word every with the word each:

He was responsible for the each day household chores like vacuuming and washing up while she took care of the garden.
Everyone else was dressed up and I stood out in my each day jeans and jumper.
You can buy each day items like milk and bread at the corner shop.

Now let’s try it with our second group of example sentences:

He did the vacuuming and washing up each day.
It rained each day for a year.
She made an effort to improve her spellings by practising on Spellzone each day.

While the second group of sentences make sense, the first group of sentences don’t mean anything. If the word each works in your sentence, use every day. If it doesn’t, use everyday.

Sources: The Online Etymology Dictionary

10 Nov 2017
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Commonly Confused Words: Everyday vs. Every Day

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