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.

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Example Sentences

The summit "in a nutshell, will be an opportunity to emphasise that Europe's security is a 360-degree challenge", said a senior EU official.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

So in a nutshell it’s a very affordable rent.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

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

It means “I came, I saw, I conquered,” and Caesar meant it as a pithy description of a battle, which, in a nutshell, he won.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• brusque
• concise
• cryptic
• curt
• elliptical
• incisive
• laconic
• pithy
• precise
• succinct
• trenchant