more often than not

Idioms  

1. Also, often as not. Fairly frequently, more than or at least half the time, as in More often than not we'll have dinner in the den, or Dean and Chris agree on travel plans, often as not. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

To give an example of a poor leading indicator, Basmajian cites non-residential investment in structures — hospitals, education buildings and office buildings — because more often than not, they peak after a recession has already started.

From MarketWatch

But, more often than not, this was not the case.

From BBC

Whenever you see a defence hold their line like Newcastle did, strikers are more often than not offside.

From BBC

In post-post-war American culture, suburbs and small towns are more often than not a stage for secrets, sorrows, scandals and satire.

From Los Angeles Times

Those we had didn’t show up half the time, and when they did, it was—more often than not—to order us to their farms to work for them.

From Literature

Related Words

• commonly
• consistently
• customarily
• frequently
• generally
• mostly
• naturally
• normally
• occasionally
• often
• ordinarily
• regularly
• routinely
• sometimes