marked man, a

Idioms

Also, marked woman. A person singled out as an object of suspicion, hostility, or vengeance. For example, As a witness to the robbery, he felt he was a marked man, or After her fiasco at the meeting, she was a marked woman—no one would hire her. This idiom was first recorded in 1833.

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.

An ominous symptom—the clearest demonstration of my defeat; I was already a marked man, a good customer.

From Old Calabria by Douglas, Norman

How could he think of approaching Hannah Gropphusen--he, a marked man, a condemned man?

From Jena or Sedan? by Beyerlein, Franz

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