under the influence

Idioms

Impaired functioning owing to alcohol consumption, as in He was accused of driving under the influence. This expression, from legal jargon, is short for under the influence of intoxicating liquor and implies that one is not completely drunk. Since it is nearly always applied to drivers suspected or so accused, it has given rise to the police acronym DUI, for “driving under the influence.” [Second half of 1800s]

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.

In contrast, general relativity describes time as something that can stretch and bend under the influence of mass and energy.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2026

A California state senator alleges that police officers fabricated evidence to falsely accuse her of driving under the influence after she was T-boned at an intersection near the state Capitol.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

WMO scientific officer John Kennedy said global weather is still under the influence of La Nina, a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

"We know that unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don't get tired, don't get distracted and don't drive under the influence," she said.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

As we came out of the hotel that morning they glittered in the early morning sun, and under the influence of those two-sided accessories, what happened next took on contrasting tones.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023