in the course of

Idioms  

1. Also, during the course of. In the process or progress of, as in the famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence (1776), “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands ...” These phrases have been criticized as needlessly wordy (in or during alone are adequate), but they have an emphatic rhythm that keeps them alive. [Mid-1600s]

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Example Sentences

What did you discover in the course of making the show?

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026

"It also recognises colleagues injured and killed in the course of doing their job."

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Out of a 27-song setlist, these remarks appear four times in the course of the 2 ½ hours the band is onstage.

From Salon • May 28, 2026

What choices Nadia Marcinko had, if any, in the course of her long association with Jeffrey Epstein, it is impossible for an outsider to know.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

But his father enjoyed it very much indeed and in the course of the next few weeks told it to so many people that Cor wished it had never happened.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis