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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in a nutshell

The idea, in a nutshell, is to switch on the immune system and starve the cancer at the same time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

There, in a nutshell, is the dilemma around English identity: a mayor seeking to bring her community together but nervous that the nation's flag could be seen as divisive.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 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

As the Great Leader explained it: Establishing juche means, in a nutshell, being the master of revolution and reconstruction in one’s own country.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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Related Words

• brusque
• concise
• cryptic
• curt
• elliptical
• incisive
• laconic
• pithy
• precise
• succinct
• trenchant

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