at the mercy of
Idioms-
Also, at someone's mercy . Subject to the power of, helpless against, as in The captured rebels were at the mercy of the army commander . [Late 1500s]
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Without any protection against, as in On top of Mount Washington we were at the mercy of the elements . [Late 1600s]
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.
For the time being, all those companies are at the mercy of memory chip prices that keep moving higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Sentencing Ali on Wednesday, Recorder Simon James said people had been "packed into every inch of available space", and were left "at the mercy of the unpredictable sea".
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
“For indies like mine, we’re at the mercy of available light,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
“I actually don’t know what the timeframe for that is and would be somewhat at the mercy of the regulators as to when that approval would take place.”
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
"He acts as a beast would, blindly. He's at the mercy of his own evil, and hardly knows what he does."
From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye
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.
