in theory

phrase

1

—used to say what should happen or be true if a theory is correct

In theory, the reading skills of the students should improve.

2

—used to say that something seems to be true or possible as an idea but may not actually be true or possible

I agree with you in theory, but realistically I don't think we have the time to do that.

Examples of in theory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If every employee engaged an agentic assistant the way developers engage an agentic IDE, the economic benefits to the vendor (and, at least in theory, to customer enterprises) would be substantial. — Jason Andersen, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Joint procurement could, in theory, lower costs, improve interoperability, and create scale. — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 6 July 2026

This was despite the Sky deal including a clause that will see £950 million returned to ITV shareholders, in theory reducing the amount of money the Studios business might take to bank. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026

The blood orange and yuzu sound lovely in theory, but the vanilla tilts it into dessert territory — way too sweet and rich. — Angela Hansberger, AJC.com, 6 July 2026

Rhymes for in theory

• kashmiri
• beery
• bleary
• cheery
• cirri
• dearie
• deary
• dreary
• eerie
• kiri
• leary
• leery