in vain
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.
"However, their efforts were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury."
From BBC • May 13, 2026
After Megxit, Harry and Meghan tried in vain to get a best-of-both-worlds setup, pitching to continue to represent the monarchy while also chasing commercial interests.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
At the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, the staff tried in vain to save the program.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
Ahead of the burial on Friday, locals also carried those portraits and flags while chanting pro-Gaddafi slogans and declaring that "the martyrs' blood will not be shed in vain".
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
The football boys gathered around their exalted coach, begging in vain for some reprieve.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
