by design

Idioms  

1. On purpose, deliberately, as in Whether by luck or by design, his application was accepted. This term, originally put as on design, uses design in the sense of “plan.” [First half of 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

by design

The head, by design, is part of the game on all plays and for all players and can’t be removed from risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The galette, which is essentially a freeform pie, is already one of the great weeknight forms — sweet or savory, rustic by design, deeply forgiving.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

I don't know whether that is by design or by just not having the players to dominate.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

But that is by design, said INRIA's Serena Ivaldi, as the robots "have to act in human environments" without startling the people they help.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

As if by design, they both stopped at the same spot, above the half-submerged, rooty clump of a fallen tree.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Related Words

• consciously
• knowingly
• pointedly
• purposely
• studiously
• voluntarily
• willfully