on the alert
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.
It’s a play on the alert that heralded a new participant in online chat rooms of the 1990s and aughts, a time when many of this phrase’s current users weren’t born.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
The president said officials would be on the alert for signs of prices being unfairly hiked in the event of potential shortages.
From BBC • Oct. 1, 2024
The intelligence community is on the alert for spies looking to penetrate America’s commercial space sector through cyberattacks and strategic investments to gain access to critical networks.
From Washington Times • Aug. 22, 2023
China also returns from a holiday on Monday, with markets on the alert for further support measures from Beijing to stimulate the country's faltering economic recovery.
From Reuters • Jun. 26, 2023
Just stayed on the alert, watching for emergencies.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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.
