an arm and a leg
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s show.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025
Councillor David Romney said he was wary of taking on the responsibility, saying it could end up costing Oakham "an arm and a leg".
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2023
But there may be other items on the list that do not cost an arm and a leg.
From Reuters • Feb. 21, 2023
This time, in a work well-timed to the world’s inflation crisis, they want to show that it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, either.
From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2022
So she took a taxi, which cost her an arm and a leg.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
