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Synonyms

in a nutshell

Idioms  

  1. Concisely, in a few words, as in Here's our proposal—in a nutshell, we want to sell the business to you. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny's description of Homer's Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell. For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And, while you’re there, you’ll see the story of our golden age in a nutshell.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Dimon, in a nutshell, told him to stop lying on TV, according to people familiar with the conversation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

To sum up their misfortune in a nutshell, Bradley was taken off at half-time after a knock for Isak.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

“That’s just Miller in a nutshell, like he’s always trying to help others,” said Pomerantz, one of the many volunteers at Moss’ youth football camp.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 26, 2025

And that, in a nutshell, is how Grace and her boyfriend broke up.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.