at bay

Idioms  

1. Cornered, in distress, as in Angry bystanders chased the thief into an alley and held him at bay until the police arrived. This idiom originally came from hunting, where it describes an animal that has been driven back and now faces pursuing hounds. Its use for other situations dates from the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

Light'ning no more his eyes inspire, No more his nostrils snorted fire; At bay he stood, fatigu'd and lank, With flagging ears, and beating flank.

From Aesop, in Rhyme Old Friends in a New Dress by Park, Marmaduke

Long past, checkered pages, Portray a sinful field, Throngs vast, sectored ages, At bay, all win or yield.

From The Little Daisy Girl and Other Poems by Cheney, Roland Jon

At bay she faced me, this secret woman whom I knew to hold the key to some of the darkest places which we sought to explore.

From The Quest of the Sacred Slipper by Rohmer, Sax

At bay, and sublime in his agony, he certainly has, for Truth, Jan.

From The Gentle Art of Making Enemies by Whistler, James McNeill

At bay, the brown rat, Neff knew, is the most ferocious rodent of the 2000 species, but Neff held his hand out daring John to bite.

From Brown John's Body by Marks, Winston K.

Related Words

• captured
• cornered