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teachable moment

American  
[tee-chuh-buhl moh-muhnt] / ˈti tʃə bəl ˈmoʊ mənt /

noun

  1. a specific occurrence, situation, or experience that can be used to teach people about something more general.

    Her death created a teachable moment about prescription drug abuse.

Etymology

Origin of teachable moment

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

That line stayed with me when I spoke to Gregory Rogers, a criminal-justice lecturer and former FBI agent who’s been trying to turn the assassination into a teachable moment.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

This should be a teachable moment, the adulting equivalent of an afterschool special.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 26, 2025

It’s a bit cliché, but this must become a teachable moment.

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025

"When parents feel they've set a bad example, they have a valuable opportunity to turn the situation into a teachable moment."

From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024

I thought Buzz could get a lot out of a teachable moment.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

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.