saying
Americannoun
-
sayings
plural
idioms
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of saying
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (gerund); see say 1, -ing 1
Explanation
A short, common, and easy-to-remember phrase is a saying. When class ends right before your turn to give a speech, you might use the saying, "Saved by the bell!" A saying is basically the same as an aphorism, an adage, or a proverb, usually offering some kind of wisdom. If you accidentally break your sister's favorite teacup, you might think of the saying "To err is human, to forgive divine," which means that everyone makes mistakes but only truly remarkable people are able to forgive these mistakes. You should probably also remind yourself of the saying, "Honesty is the best policy."
Vocabulary lists containing saying
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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One Idea, Part 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Imagine Clarke saying: "Call me Stevo or Clarkey, if you wish."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Worth Girvan said she supports more housing development, particularly near transit lines, saying the West Valley “needs to do our part” to scale up construction and bring housing prices down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Klein also pointed to a report saying OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told investors that the company’s enterprise business now makes up more of its revenue than its consumer segment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
But with respect to those concerns, I don’t think that’s exactly what Ocasio-Cortez was saying.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
“What I’m saying is, anyone can take love,” Gingersnipes continued.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Pochettino also has filled the mural behind his desk with inspirational sayings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
The following year, Pulte even produced a slim volume annotating some of his grandfather’s sayings and quotations.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
My exposure to this all stems from being around salespeople who were not competent and didn’t have a clue in how to sell, so they fell back on trite sayings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Our physio was an ex-player, John Kirk, and what a great man he was - but really old-fashioned and with some wonderful sayings but no real qualifications.
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026
I miss the happy, carefree version of Dad who was always humming jazz music and reciting French sayings.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
