through the motions
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.
"You feel a complete lack of hope or care for the future. You are just going through the motions," she said.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
It’s an assembly of archetypes going through the motions, snow falling and lights twinkling all the while.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
He was calling Speaker Mike Johnson, who was going through the motions of saying hello to patrons who had shown up for an early lunch.
From Slate • Dec. 2, 2025
Megan was kind though to not make the sting of the split worse by going through the motions of the wedding day just to say no.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025
The successful members of the senior class were merely going through the motions.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
