1
: commonly named
the so-called pocket veto
2
: falsely or improperly so named
deceived by a so-called friend

Examples of so-called in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The females can lay eggs in any warm-blooded animal, which then hatch, unleashing hundreds of screwworm larvae, so-called because of their sharp mouths and their burrowing being compared to the motion of a screw. Patrick Smith, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025 But that is not about being so-called normal or not normal. ABC News, 24 Aug. 2025 Saba, Lesser Antilles Spanning only five square miles, Saba is the most diminutive of the Lesser Antilles, so-called for their size. Kristin Braswell, AFAR Media, 14 Aug. 2025 The 200-mile, so-called, Red Zone in southern California remains the cargo theft hotspot, but motivated by the possibility of lucrative payoffs, thieves are willing to go beyond the zone to make their scores. Ed Garsten, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025 Starting in October 2023, payments resumed, but nonpayment wasn’t reported to credit bureaus because the Department of Education provided borrowers with a so-called on ramp. Medora Lee, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025 Leigh Bowery arrived from Sunshine, Australia, soon conquered the Cha Cha Club and the Camden Palace, and in 1985 opened Taboo—so-called because nothing that happened there was. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024 Next year, 13 Hollywood movies slated for release will be shot on Imax digital cameras or film, beating a previous record logged in 2021 when seven so-called filmed for Imax movies came out. Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024 Among the tactics that are off limits: AI cannot be used to mislead voters, spread disinformation and so-called deepfakes, or deliberately manipulate images. Courtney Subramanian, Fortune, 6 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of so-called was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“So-called.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/so-called. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

so-called

adjective
ˈsō-ˈkȯld
: commonly or popularly but often inaccurately so named
your so-called friend

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