low-hanging fruit

noun

low-hang·​ing fruit ˈlō-ˈhaŋ-iŋ- 

: the obvious or easy things that can be most readily done or dealt with in achieving success or making progress toward an objective

Maria and Victor have about three months' living expenses set aside. That's actually pretty good … . But I urged them to do better … . Looking at their monthly expenses, we found a few pieces of low-hanging fruit: Two hundred dollars a month on clothes? I don't think so. Another $155 for hair and manicures? Denied.

—Suze Orman

—often used with pick

As the writers and producers sat down in spring 2007 to draw the outlines of Season 7, they knew, Mr. Gordon said, that most of the low-hanging fruit in the action genre had already been picked.

—Edward Wyatt

When business types talk about picking low-hanging fruit, they don't mean, heaven forbid, doing actual physical labor. They mean finding easy solutions.

—Allan Sloan

Examples of low-hanging fruit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, the tungsten from those tailings — in a sense, the mine’s low-hanging fruit — could be ready for sale as soon as early 2027, Haji said. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Sep. 2026

Their biggest competitive advantage, hitting director CJ Gillman said, was picking the low-hanging fruit and simplifying their messaging to players. — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

If Jenn is low-hanging fruit for Victoria, Carmella is whatever’s fallen off the tree and spoiled on the ground. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

For one thing, the regulatory environment is much more demanding, as outlined above, to say nothing of the fact that all the low-hanging fruit has been picked from the vine decades ago. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for low-hanging fruit

• irresolute
• reconstitute
• absolute
• arrowroot
• attribute
• bitterroot
• constitute
• convolute
• destitute
• disrepute
• dissolute
• execute