saying
Americannoun
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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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:
And now she is saying the stress of working those late hours has caused her to take a leave of absence.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
Hims & Hers disputed the lawsuit, saying it would defend itself against claims it called an effort to generate headlines at its expense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
When you take a guided tour of the nearly completed Harvard-Westlake River Park Sports Complex in Studio City, you lose count how many times you’re saying, “Wow.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
He gave it three stars, saying Zendaya "saves" the film.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“I’m saying that on the morning she’s supposed to make history, you can’t tell Rosa Parks to hail a cab.”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The following year, Pulte even produced a slim volume annotating some of his grandfather’s sayings and quotations.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
The Soviet Union was a land of shortages, but there was no shortage of acerbic sayings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
And speaking "bogan" refers to casual speech with lots of local sayings, he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
Even if you’re not a Christian, you’re probably familiar with the Holy Week sayings and characters that illustrate the worst of humanity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2025
What’s he got to gain? 9TH JUROR: Attention, maybe. 3RD JUROR: You keep coming up with these bright sayings.
From "Twelve Angry Men" by Reginald Rose
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.
