can't hold a candle to
CulturalExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My pathological liar character can’t hold a candle to you!
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2023
A governor's seat can't hold a candle to that.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2022
A search engine can’t hold a candle to all the libraries in the world where the books actually exist, live, breathe, and argue with one another.
From The Guardian ● May 13, 2017
“It’s another level of value,” Challenger says. The holiday bonus or “attaboy” email you get from your boss can’t hold a candle to the sense of purpose fire fighters get from saving people’s lives.
From Time ● Dec. 14, 2012
"My motley can't hold a candle to theirs," he thought, with an amused chuckle, as he surveyed them critically.
From Travelers Five Along Life's Highway by Annie F. (Annie Fellows) Johnston
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.
