Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An old expression came to us: Let sleeping dogs lie.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 31, 2021
And her message to me was: Let sleeping dogs lie.
From Time ● May 23, 2016
Let sleeping dogs lie, he thought to himself, remembering the dinner.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
"Let sleeping dogs lie," Jack answered, in the same words as Dr. Marten.
From Recalled to Life by Allen, Grant
His motto was, "Let sleeping dogs lie"; and he took good care to offend no one by proposing any reforms, either political or religious.
From Halleck's New English Literature by Halleck, Reuben Post
Maybe sometimes we should let sleeping dogs lie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
The sage advice is to let sleeping dogs lie, but the new film “Cruella” couldn’t resist shaking the poor creatures awake to the plight of a woman known for trying to murder them.
From Washington Post ● May 28, 2021
"I was slightly concerned people might say I should let sleeping dogs lie, but I haven't received a single derogatory remark," she says.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2019
Or should I let sleeping dogs lie and hope it all passes over?
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2018
And Father said, “Best to let sleeping dogs lie, I reckon.”
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
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.
