n.
a thing that is indisputably the case.
▸
(facts)
information used as evidence or as part of a report.
▸chiefly Law the truth about events as opposed to interpretation.
Phrase
- before
(or after)
the fact
Law before (or after) the committing of a crime. - a fact of life
something that must be accepted, even if unpalatable. - the facts of life
information about sexual matters. - in
(point of)
fact
in reality.
Etymology
C15 (orig. meaning ‘an act’, later ‘a crime’, surviving in the phr. before (or after) the fact): from L. factum, neut. past part. of facere ‘do’.