First recorded in 1885–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It didn’t require a mind reader to decode the chief’s message.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2025
The 28-year-old mind reader, who graduated from the Junior Society in 2020, described the program as his “professional playground,” which gave him the skills he needed to pursue magic full-time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2025
Don't expect them to be a mind reader.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024
“It isn’t like trying to draw some type of conclusion and be a mind reader on who’s about to commit an offense,” Dart said.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
After the snack, the kid proved himself as good a mind reader as a cook.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
CNN’s Jake Tapper, in debriefing reporter Evan Perez, said he couldn’t ask him to be a mind-reader in assessing Trump’s mood.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
I know that no one is a mind-reader, but I didn’t think I was coercing my partner, and I feel very uneasy trying to retroactively “read” their body language for clues.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2021
“Some are legitimate and some are corrupt, and you don’t need to be a mind-reader to figure out which is which,” he said.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 29, 2020
As the introduction to “This Is Our Song” puts it, she is “a storyteller, a mind-reader, a believer, and a friend.”
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 18, 2016
“Oh,” she said, and then went into grandparent mind-reader mode.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
