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.
That tension between omnipotence and powerlessness is captured in a word: adolescence.
From Salon • Dec. 14, 2025
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
One part of the screener asks children to manipulate the sounds in a word orally, said Gorno-Tempini.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025
Chubs tied up his shoes, snapped his suitcase shut, and didn’t put in a word of protest as we switched off the cabin lights and headed out into the darkness.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
