proverbial

adjective pro·ver·bi·al \ prə-ˈvər-bē-əl \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of proverbial

1 : of, relating to, or resembling a proverb

2 : that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of

the proverbial smoking gun

—

proverbially

play \prə-ˈvər-bē-ə-lē\ adverb

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Examples of proverbial in a Sentence

Insanity roamed through her large midwestern tribe, cloistered in proverbial dark closets in gabled houses in areas of the country where no one else lived for miles and miles … —Lynne Tillman, Motion Sickness, 1991
I keep running across people who speak fondly about what they imagine to be the comforts of autocracy, who long for the assurances of the proverbial man on the white horse likely to do something hard and puritanical about the moral relativism that has made a mess of the cities, the schools, and prime-time television. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1990

Recent Examples of proverbial from the Web

Saving it right away will stop it from burning that proverbial hole in your pocket.

— amy marturana, SELF, "Being More Mindful Has Helped Me Cut Back on My Spending, But Saving Money Is Still Really Hard," 7 Apr. 2018
The place is still getting its proverbial fighting stance down and tweaking its offerings.

— mark kurlyandchik, Detroit Free Press, "First Taste: Fist of Curry brings irreverent kung-fu fun to old Huron Room space," 5 Apr. 2018
Obviously, the next two games fall into the proverbial must-win category.

— jeff duncan, NOLA.com, "Pelicans picked bad time to lay an egg with five games remaining," 2 Apr. 2018
That discussion, however, was transformed into the proverbial elephant in the room at Friday’s interview sessions.

— mel greenberg, Philly.com, "Dawn Staley's Gamecocks and Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies could be a crash course once again in NCAA tournament," 23 Mar. 2018
The ability of quantum particles to live in undefined states—like Schrödinger’s proverbial cat, both alive and dead—has been used for years to enhance data encryption.

— davide castelvecchi, Scientific American, "The Quantum Internet Has Arrived (and It Hasn’t)," 16 Feb. 2018
Every spring there comes a day or two during which hundreds of children line up, often at the edge of a field or along the side of a path, champing at the bit and revving up their proverbial engines.

— geoff bruce, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Egg hunts abound in Pewaukee, Dousman and Menomonee Falls on Easter weekend," 21 Mar. 2018
The tweets as well as his Twitter account may now be deleted; however, the damage done by them has been pinned to the top of Gibson’s proverbial Twitter feed.

— sarah midkiff, refinery29.com, "GOP Candidate Who Called Emma González A "Skinhead" Drops Out Of Race," 17 Mar. 2018
The use of the DCP is equivalent to placing the proverbial fox in charge of the hen house.

— jon lender, courant.com, "Jon Lender: 'Wide Ranging' Probe Into Lottery Planned After Blast From Key Legislators," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proverbial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of proverbial

see ¹proverb

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1548

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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PROVERBIAL Defined for English Language Learners

proverbial

adjective

Definition of proverbial for English Language Learners

: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
: commonly spoken of : widely known

PROVERBIAL Defined for Kids

proverbial

adjective pro·ver·bi·al \ prə-ˈvər-bē-əl \

Definition of proverbial for Students

1 : of a proverb

a proverbial expression

2 : commonly spoken of

You have the proverbial beginner's luck.

—

proverbially

adverb

Learn More about proverbial

Spanish Central: Translation of proverbial Nglish: Translation of proverbial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of proverbial for Arabic speakers

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proverbial

Definition of proverbial

proverbially

Examples of proverbial in a Sentence

Recent Examples of proverbial from the Web

Origin and Etymology of proverbial

PROVERBIAL Defined for English Language Learners

proverbial

Definition of proverbial for English Language Learners

PROVERBIAL Defined for Kids

proverbial

Definition of proverbial for Students

proverbially

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Definition of proverbial

proverbially

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Origin and Etymology of proverbial

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proverbial

Definition of proverbial for English Language Learners

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proverbially

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