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say it: in-si-DEN-tuhl
incidental is an adjective and noun meaning "(sometimes followed by `to') minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence". It carries 5 recorded senses.
(sometimes followed by `to') minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence
“incidental expenses”
“the road will bring other incidental advantages”
“extra duties incidental to the job”
“labor problems incidental to a rapid expansion”
“confusion incidental to a quick change”
not of prime or central importance
“nonessential to the integral meanings of poetry”
“the character's motives remain accidental to the plot”
occurring with or following as a consequence
“an excessive growth of bureaucracy, with attendant problems”
“snags incidental to the changeover in management”
“attendant circumstances”
“the period of tension and consequent need for military preparedness”
“the ensuant response to his appeal”
“the resultant savings were considerable”
“collateral target damage from a bombing run”
(frequently plural) an expense not budgeted or not specified
“he requested reimbursement of $7 for incidental expenses”
plural
an item that is incidental
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for incidental come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.