at arm's length

Idioms  

1. At a distance, avoiding intimacy or familiarity, as in Bill hated seeing his colleagues outside the office, preferring to keep all of them at arm's length, or She was friendly only when he was safely at arm's length. Now often used with the verb keep, this term for distancing oneself from a person, organization, or issue originated as at arm's end but developed its current form by the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

at arm's length

You can keep her at arm’s length and not make these kinds of offers again.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Investors still lack sufficient information to understand the effects on Microsoft’s financial statements or whether the dealings were at arm’s length.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

AMERICA’S distinctive advantage was always the liberal side of the rule of law: specifically, the types of rules that secure private property, punish anticompetitive conduct and hold the state at arm’s length from the firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

They were far from their fluent best in attack, but head coach Clarke praised his side's resilience as they kept Haiti at arm's length in Foxborough.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

He’ll have his reasons for keeping them at arm’s length, I know he will, and they’ll be centred on protecting me and Evie.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins