slap on the wrist
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After a prolonged legal battle between Elon Musk and U.S. regulators over his past purchase of Twitter shares, the technology CEO is getting off with little more than a slap on the wrist.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
The 36-year-old's victim, Ismail Qureshi, described the sentence as "a slap on the wrist".
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
The most important federal antitrust suit in live music may have just ended with barely a slap on the wrist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
The judge gave Google a slap on the wrist and said the competitive dynamics of the marketplace were changing already, largely because of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
“Yeah, The Corporation will probably only get a slap on the wrist and get to set up shop somewhere else. Everything’s being blamed on Ladybird. Typical.”
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
