once-over-lightly
[ wuhns-oh-ver-lahyt-lee ]
/ ˈwʌnsˌoʊ vərˈlaɪt li /
Save This Word!
noun Informal.
a hasty or superficial treatment, look, examination, etc.; once-over: The maid gave the room the once-over-lightly.
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
Origin of once-over-lightly
First recorded in 1940–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use once-over-lightly in a sentence
Other Idioms and Phrases with once-over-lightly
once over lightly
Cursorily, quickly, as in I did go over the program once over lightly, but perhaps I should read it more carefully. [Colloquial; mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.