in principle

Idioms  

1. Fundamentally, in general, but not necessarily in all particulars. For example, The diplomats accepted the idea in principle but would rely on experts to work out all the details. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Unlike traditional interpretations of quantum mechanics, which mainly offer different ways of thinking about the same equations, these collapse models make predictions that could, in principle, be tested experimentally.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2026

The airlines announced in February an "agreement in principle" to restructure its debt with creditors, saying it expected to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

Though he supports moving to a low carbon economy in principle, he said "it should be a fair transition".

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

A team that causes a match to be abandoned will, in principle, forfeit the match.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

As philosopher of science Karl Popper has emphasized, a good theory is characterized by the fact that it makes a number of predictions that could in principle be disproved or falsified by observation.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking