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.
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
“If it’s in a word or it’s in a look,” the opening lines read, “you can’t get rid of the Babadook.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2024
Sir George—whom, by-the-bye, I have forgotten to describe,—a very big, and very fresh-looking country gentleman, stands before their sofa, coffee-cup in hand, and occasionally puts in a word.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
