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Synonyms

give a wide berth

Idioms  

  1. Avoid, as in After Jane told on them, they gave her a wide berth. This expression alludes to giving a vessel enough room to swing at anchor so as to avoid a collision. [Mid-1800s]

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.

Give a wide berth to those who can do damage at a distance.

From Aesop's Fables; a new translation by Jones, V. S. Vernon

Give a wide berth to one thing, You're sure to fetch up soon on something else.

From The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

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.