by surprise
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.
An alert system might have given tour companies and people in the area the information they needed to make more informed choices and avoid being caught by surprise.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026
So he may have been caught by surprise when the news of the plan was met in the evangelical world with ambivalence, wariness, and, occasionally, alarm.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Guzman was caught by surprise last season when he didn’t prepare for losing Fuentes, so all summer, he vowed to never again to be without a fully ready backup quarterback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Its determination, allowing an orange parade down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in 28 years, caught everybody by surprise, including those in the loyal order.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
I have lost track of where Xander is in the crowd, so I am taken by surprise when I see him walking toward me.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
