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
Whatever the color, your boy Ethan Hunt is gonna hang on that sucker for dear life because he’s got things to do and a world to save yet again.
—
Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
One of the hikers who took a big fall clung to his hiking poles, about 60 feet above another unstable cliff, for dear life, the Coast Guard said.
—Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Workout partners on the opposite side of the heavy bag shuddered and held on for dear life as Foreman slammed into it with his gloved fists.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Video of the incident showed the two workers, who were wearing harnesses but didn’t have their safety lines attached to anything holding on for dear life as the scaffolding swayed and twisted uncontrollably.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for for dear life
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Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025
One of the hikers who took a big fall clung to his hiking poles, about 60 feet above another unstable cliff, for dear life, the Coast Guard said.
—Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Workout partners on the opposite side of the heavy bag shuddered and held on for dear life as Foreman slammed into it with his gloved fists.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Video of the incident showed the two workers, who were wearing harnesses but didn’t have their safety lines attached to anything holding on for dear life as the scaffolding swayed and twisted uncontrollably.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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 7 May. 2025.
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