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Literally" means something actually happened or is factually true, like "the pipe literally burst and flooded the basement" - not a figure of speech or exaggeration. People have been using it to mean "basically" or "figuratively" for decades now, so language experts mostly accept both uses, but if you want to be clear and avoid confusion, stick to the strict definition.
I catch myself doing this all the time - saying "I was literally dying" when I wasn't actually expiring, which is why the traditional definition matters even if everyone around you is breaking that rule! The real pitfall nobody seems to mention is that using it for emphasis actually weakens your point instead of strengthening it, especially in writing that needs to convince someone. When you say "literally" for hyperbole, you're basically admitting you don't have a strong enough word for what you're describing, so grab something more precise instead - "I was exhausted" hits harder than "I was literally dying.
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