How to Use idiom in a Sentence
idiom
noun- The expression “give way,” meaning “retreat,” is an idiom.
-
Where there's a will, there's a way--as true as any idiom could be.
— Arkansas Online, 16 Jan. 2023 -
But nobody's quite been able to write the script that does it in the modern idiom.
— Dominic Corry, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2021 -
English has lots of bill idioms, but the bills involved are not the same.
— Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 2023 -
Love and Trouble is like the town pump of memoir idioms.
— Laura Kipnis, The Atlantic, 16 May 2017 -
The Rams will put the age-old idiom about the third time being the charm to the test against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
— Adam Burke Vsin, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2022 -
For Amazon, the move to get out in front of the herd, to use Bezos’s chosen idiom, makes sense.
— Lila MacLellan, Quartz at Work, 20 Sep. 2019 -
For him, the impact of a work of art was bound to an artist’s discovery of his own idiom and vision of the world.
— Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, The New York Review of Books, 28 Jan. 2020 -
This idiom dates back 200 years to when people hunted with packs of dogs.
— Marylou Tousignant, Washington Post, 30 May 2022 -
To mangle an idiom: Why expose a gift horse with your mouth?
— Nina Burleigh, The New Republic, 16 May 2023 -
But obviously, there are plenty of fish (the idiom, not the app).
— Iris Goldsztajn, Marie Claire, 20 Oct. 2021 -
To vary an old idiom: if only an ounce of compassion could be worth a pound of cure.
— Longreads, 7 June 2024 -
It’s not the voice of the people, but a low-down idiom intended to sell certain class values.
— Armond White, National Review, 3 Aug. 2022 -
At this, Beatriz warms up to Witold, someone who, among other things, does not speak the idiom of the bourgeoise.
— Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023 -
Jazz may be the most macho music idiom of them all, too macho at times for my tastes.
— Ted Gioia, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2017 -
And, perhaps hidden in all those cards, a few senses or idioms to add.
— Kory Stamper, Slate Magazine, 14 Mar. 2017 -
A few days ago, a friend taught me a Spanish idiom: vergüenza ajena.
— Mark Lamster, Dallas News, 11 Dec. 2020 -
Out of step, but useful Pro-mom language is sometimes, in the old idiom, the velvet glove hiding the iron fist.
— Shauna Shames, The Conversation, 19 Sep. 2023 -
Just a few idioms belittle height, such as having your head in the clouds or looking down your nose.
— Grant Segall, cleveland, 3 Jan. 2020 -
The idiom’s hoist is the past tense of an older verb that is now obsolete: hoise (sometimes spelled and pronounced hyse).
— Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Sep. 2021 -
But there was something compellingly true about his simple idiom that has stuck with me over the years.
— Michael McMullen, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 -
Just for clarity — both ‘burying the hatchet’ and ‘off the table’ are idioms.
— miamiherald, 19 Aug. 2017 -
No sailor wants to fall into the water, but the timeless idiom might better have been amended to sail or sink when David Wood got his start in the sport.
— Andrew Turner, Daily Pilot, 17 July 2019 -
The idiom has a loose adaptation for the SMU football team Saturday.
— Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, 11 Nov. 2022 -
This holds true by Jay-Z’s standards and those of the musical idiom synonymous with his name.
— George Varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, 13 Dec. 2017 -
And then there’s the elephant in the room — perhaps something bigger than an elephant may be needed in this idiom.
— Tony East, Forbes, 5 June 2021 -
Choose a play on words or an idiom related to the room's function for a floor that displays wit and charm to anyone who enters.
— Laura Lambert, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Nov. 2022 -
Various jazz languages have emerged since Parker’s death, yet his idiom flourishes at the heart of the best of them.
— Howard Reich, chicagotribune.com, 10 Aug. 2020 -
The rhymed verse the characters speak in doesn’t at all hinder them from expressing themselves colloquially, in idioms that sound better with a languorous Southern lilt.
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024 -
For the noun note, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009) counts eight basic senses and four additional idioms.
— Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 25 July 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'idiom.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Last Updated: