Fact | Mean of fact in English Dictionary

/ˈfækt/

• Noun
• something that truly exists or happens
1. Rapid electronic communication is now a fact.
2. It's hard to accept the fact that she's gone. [=it's hard to accept that she's gone]
3. What they're proposing is impractical, apart from the fact that it's also illegal.
4. In spite of the fact that he was sick [=although he was sick], I went to visit him.
• a true piece of information
1. The book is filled with interesting facts and figures.
2. Those are the (cold) hard facts of the case.
3. I know for a fact that he did it. [=I am sure that he did it]
4. He did it, and that's a fact.
5. There's no doubt that he did it. The facts speak for themselves. [=the facts make it clear that he did it]
6. It can sometimes be hard to separate fact from fiction. [=to know what is true and what is false]
• after a crime has been committed
1. She was charged with being an accessory after the fact. [=she was charged with helping someone who had committed a crime after the crime was committed]

• after something has happened
1. They informed me of their decision only after the fact. [=after they had already made their decision]
• in truth
1. painters who are in fact anything but unsophisticated
2. He looks younger, but he is in (actual) fact almost 60 years old.
3. They know each other; in fact, they're close friends. = They know each other; they're close friends, in fact.