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

This can be low-hanging fruit, not least because the American degree is still much sought after. —Lydiah Kemunto Bosire, semafor.com, 16 June 2025

An undertaking that is ‘low-hanging fruit’ paints a picture of small efforts yielding a big reward. —Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

Smart businesses will use this intelligence to identify the low-hanging fruit while preparing for the longer-term implications of advancing capabilities. —Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Call up Anthony, shake up lineup While the pitching staff has plenty of low-hanging fruit to reach for, the position player situation is a lot stickier. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 1 June 2025

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