by virtue of

phrase

variants or in virtue of

: through the force of : by authority of

She has the right to participate by virtue of her status as a former employee.

Examples of by virtue of in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Brewers, by virtue of Cincinnati's 4-0 win over Atlanta, clinched a bye in the wild-card round and earned home-field advantage for the Division Series. — ABC News, 22 Sep. 2026

Often found in skin care products in light of their ability to proliferate collagen, peptides fare equally well in hair products by virtue of their follicle-stimulating, scalp-soothing benefits. — Sophie Wirt, InStyle, 17 Sep. 2026

Since the Phillies hold the tiebreaker over the Padres, by virtue of having won the teams’ season series, the Padres would have to finish with a better record than the Phillies to get a higher playoff seed than them. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026

Last year’s winner of the race to the top of the draft should be in better shape just by virtue of not being stuck in delusion. — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for by virtue of

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