at bay

Idioms  

1. Cornered, in distress, as in Angry bystanders chased the thief into an alley and held him at bay until the police arrived. This idiom originally came from hunting, where it describes an animal that has been driven back and now faces pursuing hounds. Its use for other situations dates from the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

at bay

But the real test of intismeran will be how well the vaccine keeps cancer at bay over time.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Gray had thrown just 70 pitches and kept the Yankees at bay up to that point.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Throughout the final, faced with a composed Rybakina who put together an outstanding performance, Sabalenka could not keep her frustrations at bay.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

While regular police and military patrols now keep the zama zamas at bay, the community lives with the damage, said 63-year-old resident Sarah Rakgwanhla.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

So besieged was Bobby by the media that for a while Marshall had to have a bodyguard stationed in front of his palatial home to keep the press hordes at bay.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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Related Words

• captured
• cornered

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