Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - precisely

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Precisely means accurately and exactly. Nobody knows precisely how many people are still living in the camp... The meeting began at precisely 4.00 p.m... = exactly ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group 2. You can use precisely to emphasize that a reason or fact is the only important one there is, or that it is obvious. Children come to zoos precisely to see captive animals... ADV: ADV with cl/group c darkgreen]emphasis 3. You can say ‘precisely’ to confirm in an emphatic way that what someone has just said is true. ‘Did you find yourself wondering what went wrong?’—’Precisely.’ = exactly ADV: as reply c darkgreen]emphasis