take by surprise
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.
The two were superbly mounted, and well calculated, by their style and bearing, to take by surprise the leader of a rabble host marching through a country where all was new to his eyes.
From The Great Mogul by Tracy, Louis
It could now be seen that those who handled the oars were trying to make less noise, as though desirous of not arousing the sleepers they expected to take by surprise.
From Motor Boat Boys Mississippi Cruise or, The Dash for Dixie by Arundel, Louis
Finally the rebels retreated, and Michelson discovered that his opponents meant to take by surprise the Fort of Ufa.
From Stories by Foreign Authors: Polish, Greek, Belgian, Hungarian by Sienkiewicz, Henryk
Mr. Elster walked slowly through the village on his way to Hartledon, whose inmates he would presently take by surprise.
From Elster's Folly by Wood, Henry, Mrs.
She was taken by surprise, as was intended, but she was a woman whom it was not wise to take by surprise, if you wanted her to show you what was in her mind.
From The Eldest Son by Marshall, Archibald
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.
