go through the motions
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.
Clips have since circulated showing both sides at 2-2 appearing to go through the motions rather than pushing for a winner.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
You should at least go through the motions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
Still, he manages to go through the motions: He marries, has a daughter and seems to have a prosperous career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
“It makes little sense to go through the motions of a three-week evidentiary hearing and all that would follow without a compliant route that can be permitted,” Commission Staff Attorney Kristen Edwards said.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
Still, I’d go through the motions and hope to squeeze the man down to nineteen.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
