for dear life
idiom
: very tightly or quickly because of fear or danger
He was hanging/holding on to the rope for dear life.
They were running for dear life to get away from the vicious dogs.
Examples of for dear life in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the rallying cries the retail traders used was HODL: hold on for dear life.
—
Rebecca Angelo, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
Even when he was being tackled, Milroe looked to be wrapping up the ball for dear life, avoiding the fumbles that were an issue in 2022.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2023
Throw away your pumpkin spice lattes because Salma Hayek Pinault is holding on to summer for dear life.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 31 Aug. 2023
And yes, plenty of laughs were had as Driver held on for dear life at one point.
—Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 10 July 2023
The other, even better, involves a train barreling out of control while Cruise, holding onto a motorcycle for dear life, plunges down toward the rogue choo-choo from a high, high cliff.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 5 July 2023
The role of young lobby boy Zero often requires Revolori — who was all of 17 years old at the time of filming — to simply hang on for dear life opposite Ralph Fiennes’s hurricane of a comedic lead turn.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023
The Browns blitzed the Titans to the tune of a 38-7 halftime lead before hanging on for dear life to win the game.
—Dan Labbe, cleveland, 30 Sep. 2022
See More
Rebecca Angelo, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Safiya’s mother, while loyal to her father, nonetheless gave Safiya and her siblings the gift of books, including poetry, to which Safiya latched on for dear life.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
Even when he was being tackled, Milroe looked to be wrapping up the ball for dear life, avoiding the fumbles that were an issue in 2022.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 3 Sep. 2023
Throw away your pumpkin spice lattes because Salma Hayek Pinault is holding on to summer for dear life.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 31 Aug. 2023
And yes, plenty of laughs were had as Driver held on for dear life at one point.
—Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 10 July 2023
The other, even better, involves a train barreling out of control while Cruise, holding onto a motorcycle for dear life, plunges down toward the rogue choo-choo from a high, high cliff.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 5 July 2023
The role of young lobby boy Zero often requires Revolori — who was all of 17 years old at the time of filming — to simply hang on for dear life opposite Ralph Fiennes’s hurricane of a comedic lead turn.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 June 2023
The Browns blitzed the Titans to the tune of a 38-7 halftime lead before hanging on for dear life to win the game.
—Dan Labbe, cleveland, 30 Sep. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'for dear life.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near for dear life
Cite this Entry
“For dear life.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/for%20dear%20life. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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