Everytime or Every Time: Which Spelling Is Correct?

There are many words in the English language that are commonly confused. Everytime and every time are often used interchangeably; however, only one is correct. So the question is, are your friends late everytime or every time?

The correct spelling is every time, with a space between the two words.

Read on to learn more about what every time means and how to use it correctly in your writing.

Is Everytime One Word or Two?

It’s important to remember that every time should always be written as two separate words. Everytime is a common misspelling and it isn’t a real word in English.

The correct term, every time, is an adjective that means without exception, whenever, or at any occasion.

While everytime may sound exactly the same phonetically, incorrect spellings like this can make your writing appear unprofessional and difficult to understand.

Difference Between Everytime or Every Time

The simple difference between these two terms is that every time is a correct phrase, while everytime is a common misspelling. Everytime does not exist separately as a word in its own right, but every time does.

While many people assume everytime is a compound word, it isn’t. Every time doesn’t function in the same way as other compound words, such as everyday (often confused with every day) and anytime (often confused with any time).

Both everyday and anytime are legitimate words, which have different meanings from their two-word counterparts.

However, the same cannot be said for everytime and every time. Everytime, while often confused with every time, does not exist in the English language and should be avoided in your writing.

Examples of Every Time Used in Sentences

Here are some example sentences that show every time being used in the correct context:

• Every time I think about going on a hike, it rains.
• My father calls me every time he visits the jewelry store.
• I would choose the cheese board over the dessert trolley every time.
• Instead of eating junk food every time I feel hungry, I eat something healthy instead.
• Nobody is perfect or gets it right every time.
• A good rule of thumb is to wash your children’s hands every time they touch your dog.

Examples of Every Time From Literature

“But they were scarcely less beautiful in their slow decline, than they had been in their prime; for nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy, that we can scarcely mark their progress.”—Charles Dickens, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

“Sometimes you gwyne to git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you’s gwyne to git well agin.”—Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

“That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. They can drive you crazy. They really can.”—J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Everytime or Every Time? How to Get It Right Every Time

The easiest way to remember how to spell every time is to note that the correct term always has a space between the two words.

However, we know mistakes happen. That’s why we recommend running your work through ProWritingAid to catch any spelling mistakes. ProWritingAid is free to use and can help you produce polished, professional writing every time. Try it for free today!

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