at the mercy of

phrase

: wholly in the power of : with no way to protect oneself against

We were at the mercy of the weather.

Examples of at the mercy of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The narrator is vulnerable, pleading, totally at the mercy of the other woman. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026

Hathaway plays a suburban mom whose neighborhood is suddenly and mysteriously transported from 1982 to prehistoric times, putting family and neighbors at the mercy of hungry dinosaurs. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 23 Aug. 2026

But Melody and Mallory don't want to be at the mercy of the icons any longer. — Christopher Kuhagen, jsonline.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Short-term leases can lead to spiking costs and scarce supply, and could leave Anthropic at the mercy of another company’s pricing. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1594, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for at the mercy of

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove
• hereinabove