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Synonyms

in a nutshell

Idioms  
  1. Concisely, in a few words, as in Here's our proposal—in a nutshell, we want to sell the business to you. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny's description of Homer's Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell. For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.


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.

See Examples For:

That, in a nutshell, explains the chasm between an ebullient stock market and anxious public.

From The Wall Street Journal May 29, 2026

The summit "in a nutshell, will be an opportunity to emphasise that Europe's security is a 360-degree challenge", said a senior EU official.

From Barron's May 4, 2026

So in a nutshell it’s a very affordable rent.

From MarketWatch Apr. 29, 2026

"It will be Starmerism in a nutshell – an extraordinarily painful route to complete exoneration," they said.

From BBC Feb. 7, 2026

And, in a nutshell, dishonesty was not the Swanburne way.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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