in a word
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.
It was a bet that stocks and bonds would move in opposite directions, dressed up in a word that made it sound like a law of nature.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
The results were, in a word, startling: 1 in 7 of the children in the no-peanuts group developed an allergy by age 5, compared to just 1 in 50 in the peanut group.
From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2025
He always appreciates when golfers offer to put in a word for him, though he worries such referrals don’t always break through the labyrinth of automation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
"He said, 'mum, in a word, I was in hell.'"
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025
Brother Davis, lead us in a word uh prayer.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
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.
