Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We face tensions between paramilitary cowboys and prudent intellectuals, between paper-pushing accountants and survivors saving a culture.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2025

But Parekh said Elsheikh and the other Beatles were far more than paper-pushing functionaries.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 13, 2022

At first, The Office, like the British series on which it was based, took a cynical view of the 9-to-5 grind: It was all literal paper-pushing.

From Slate • May 29, 2020

That’s because it takes roughly 24 hours of lab work and paper-pushing to set everything up; felicitously, 2 a.m. also happens to be when operating rooms are free of scheduled surgery.

From Washington Post • Sep. 30, 2019

“That job is the ultimate policy nuts-and-bolts and paper-pushing job,” said Peter D. Feaver, who served in the National Security Council under President George W. Bush.

From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2016