From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishimmediatelyim‧me‧di‧ate‧ly1 /ɪˈmiːdiətli/ ●●● S2 W1 adverb 1 IMMEDIATELYwithout delay SYN at once Mix in the remaining ingredients and serve immediately. The telephone rang, and he answered it immediately.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say right away or, in British English, straight away rather than immediately:Yes, I’ll do it right away.2 IMMEDIATELYvery soon before or after somethingimmediately after/following something He retired immediately after the end of the war.immediately before/preceding something I can’t remember what happened immediately before the crash.3 → immediately obvious/apparent4 [+adj/adverb]NEAR very near to somethingimmediately behind/above/below/in front of etc something the seat immediately behind the driver5 → immediately involved/affected/concerned etcTHESAURUSimmediately very soon after something else happens, and without any delaySam immediately offered to help.at once immediately – used especially for emphasisRemove the pie from the oven and serve at once.He came home at once when he heard his wife was ill.right away (also straightaway British English) especially spoken immediately, especially because something is urgent. Right away and straightaway are less formal than immediately, and are very common in everyday spoken EnglishIf this happens, let us know right away.I apologized straightaway.instantly if something happens instantly, it happens immediately after something else, with almost no time betweenThe boy was killed instantly.The message is sent instantly from your computer.right now/this minute spoken if someone orders you to do something right now, they want you to do it immediately, especially because they are annoyed with youThe head teacher wants to see you right now.without delay immediately, because it is important that you do something as soon as possibleIf you lose your passport, you should contact the embassy without delay.
Examples from the Corpus
immediately• If the letting agent is not managing the flat, the tenant's deposit should be given to the owner immediately.• If your baby has a fever you should call the doctor immediately.• Knowing the case was urgent, I replied to her lawyer's email immediately.• After his lunchtime lecture from a furious Mr Major, he agreed a joint statement calling for talks to re-start immediately.• Our house is immediately across from the post office.• I went home immediately after I heard the news.• He said he has also been unable to locate Seber since he talked to him immediately after the fire.• The Steelers will immediately begin the search for a new head coach.• In terms of programming, sports immediately comes to mind.• It was not immediately determined if the two victims were related.• Hundreds of people left immediately, especially from the combined group's senior ranks.• Over half a million people have watched the first two Tests and two things are immediately obvious.• When mother saw my face, she knew immediately that something was wrong.• A rare albino alligator arrived at the Wild Animal Park yesterday and immediately went into hiding.immediatelyimmediately2 conjunction British English formal IMMEDIATELYas soon as Immediately you begin to speak, he gives you his full attention. 