sabre-rattling
Britishnoun
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.
“Geographically, New Zealand is far from the war in Europe, the tinder-box that is the Middle East, the sabre-rattling in the South China Sea, and the domestic politics in the U.S.A.,”
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2025
Such activity has barely stirred the Taiwanese public, accustomed over decades to Chinese sabre-rattling.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2022
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying they were accustomed to Beijing's sabre-rattling and saw no cause for alarm.
From Reuters ● Jul. 28, 2022
In his view, today’s extraordinary nuclear challenges — deteriorating arsenals, ongoing proliferation and the rebirth of sabre-rattling nuclear diplomacy — were preventable.
From Nature ● Oct. 14, 2018
Determined to make a good haul, the officer ordered the arrest of Madame Hirondelle, the concierge, and the two maid-servants; then, with much sabre-rattling, he led the prisoners through the streets.
From The Dispatch-Riders The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
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.
