byword
a word or phrase associated with some person or thing; a characteristic expression, typical greeting, or the like.
a word or phrase used proverbially; common saying; proverb.
an object of general reproach, derision, scorn, etc.: His crimes will make him a byword through the ages.
an epithet, often of scorn.
Origin of byword
1Other words for byword
Words Nearby byword
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use byword in a sentence
Columbine became a byword for a distinctly American form of danger and, in the law-enforcement world, the need for immediate efforts to confront active shooters.
How Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo Went From Local Public Servant to National Pariah | Jasmine Aguilera | July 22, 2022 | TimeFriedman said “caution has been a byword” in his long handling of the case but it was time for Hinckley to be set free.
Would-be Reagan assassin John W. Hinckley Jr. wins unconditional release | Spencer Hsu | September 27, 2021 | Washington PostFlying cars are almost a byword for the misplaced optimism of technologists, but recent news suggests their future may be on slightly firmer footing.
Robinhood, the brokerage that has become a byword for the boom in retail trading, is planning to go public.
Soon their sweeping machine was outselling their cups and saucers and Bissell became a byword for floor cleaners—by royal appointment too!
Best cordless vacuum: Suck up debris without getting yourself tangled | Charlotte Marcus | January 19, 2021 | Popular-Science
It was a ghastly tragedy that rattled a nation and became a byword for anti-Semitism in France.
A Horror Story of True-Life Anti-Semitism in France | Tracy McNicoll | April 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt a time when “right to work” has become a byword for union-busting, this is radical indeed.
12 Ways Catholicism is More Radical Than Pope Francis | Nathan Schneider | February 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSyndicated columnist Dan Savage even campaigned to turn “santorum” into a byword for sexual waste as revenge.
Was Rick Santorum Right About Polygamy After All? | Justin Miller | December 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBy Leo Mirani Drones have a terrible reputation, mostly because they have become a byword for death and destruction.
But he marred it all by a temper so ungovernable that in Paris there was current a byword, "Explosive as Garnache."
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniFor years the names of oil king and iron master have been a hissing and a byword among the hot-heads in America.
The Iron Puddler | James J. DavisA prince may be the byword of all Europe, yet he alone know nothing of it.
And besides, when folk talk of a country covered with troops, it's but a kind of a byword at the best.
Kidnapped | Robert Louis StevensonHad not the justice of the strong become a byword and a loathing?
The Squire's Daughter | Silas K(itto) Hocking
British Dictionary definitions for byword
/ (ˈbaɪˌwɜːd) /
a person, place, or thing regarded as a perfect or proverbial example of something: their name is a byword for good service
an object of scorn or derision
a common saying; proverb
Origin of byword
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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