Equally means in the same amount, degree, or manner. When you divide a pizza equally among four friends, everyone gets the exact same size slice. When a teacher treats students equally, she gives them the same respect and attention, regardless of who they are.

The word describes situations where things match or balance perfectly. If two runners are equally fast, neither has an advantage in a race. If you're equally good at math and science, you perform at the same level in both subjects.

Equally appears often in fairness discussions. When siblings share chores equally, each does the same amount of work. When a judge applies the law equally to everyone who comes before her, she doesn't play favorites based on wealth or status.

Sometimes people confuse equally with fairly. Fair treatment means appropriate to the situation, which might not be identical. Equally means exactly the same. If you give equally sized portions of cake to a toddler and a teenager, that's equal but might not feel fair since they have different appetites. When you divide your attention equally between two projects, you spend exactly the same time on each.

The word can also mean “to the same degree.” You might be equally excited about summer vacation and your birthday party, meaning both make you feel the same level of happiness.