under the influence

Idioms  

1. Impaired functioning owing to alcohol consumption, as in He was accused of driving under the influence. This expression, from legal jargon, is short for under the influence of intoxicating liquor and implies that one is not completely drunk. Since it is nearly always applied to drivers suspected or so accused, it has given rise to the police acronym DUI, for “driving under the influence.” [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

under the influence

"Petroleum forms in these rocks over millions of years at great depths under the influence of heat and pressure," said co-author Manuel Reinhardt from the University of Göttingen.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Geren had come under the influence of some midgrade officers, notably Col.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Bears are thriving thanks in part to an abundance of food -- including acorns, deer and boars -- under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

A California state senator alleges that police officers fabricated evidence to falsely accuse her of driving under the influence after she was T-boned at an intersection near the state Capitol.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

Uriah himself was tumbling from his horse, like rather an inexperienced diver, under the influence of a stroke which one of the opposing knights had delivered in the region of his midriff.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White