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Synonyms

par for the course

Idioms  

  1. An average or normal amount; just what one might expect. For example, I missed three questions, but that's par for the course. This term comes from golf, where it refers to the number of strokes needed by an expert golfer to finish the entire course. Its figurative use for other kinds of expectation dates from the second half of the 1900s.

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.

“That particular fantasy is par for the course in this city,” she says, though she’s not above it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

But in “Industry,” that’s all par for the course.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

These wild swings have become par for the course.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

Thursday’s benign reading of 16 points, a level that indicates broad market neutrality, seems par for the course in a market that’s growing inured to political risks.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

They weren’t particularly good-looking teeth, but that was par for the course during this time period.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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.