lay a finger on
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.
He said the boy "did not lay a finger on Amen Teklay" and that being at the scene did not make him guilty.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
But it didn’t lay a finger on the underlying disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2023
He told Haaretz in 2017 that he had lectured his troops “not to lay a finger on an old man, a woman or a child.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2022
The first player to reach for him was George Wolo, but Curtis was gone in a blur before Wolo could lay a finger on him.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2021
“When I have kids, I won’t lay a finger on them. I mean, except to hug them and stuff. But never to hurt them.”
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
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.
