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Showing results for by design. Search instead for easy design.
Synonyms

by design

Idioms  

  1. On purpose, deliberately, as in Whether by luck or by design, his application was accepted. This term, originally put as on design, uses design in the sense of “plan.” [First half of 1600s]

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.

Private-market investing is long-term by design, as is retirement investing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

As its organizers explained to the Guardian, this is mostly by design.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

This ambiguity is, at least partly, by design.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

That uncertainty is by design, according to Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Some would-be architects of our future look toward a time when it will be possible to alter the human germ plasm by design.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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.