two by two
idiom
: two at a time : first two and then another two, etc.
They entered the room two by two.
Examples of two by two in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That show was Noah’s Ark—two animals, two by two.
2021
The Thom Browne spring 2021 collection was presented by way of a film produced in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
—
José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2023
But as dancers sway two by two around the stage, Swift stands alone.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2023
Just listen to any love song to know that most folks like to travel two by two.
—Bea Lewis, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2023
As the movie rolled, groups of children sat on the foam-padded floor, two by two or three by three or all alone.
—Andrea Stanley, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2022
In the best of times, United States shot putters come at the world two by two — Parry O’Brien and Bill Nieder, O’Brien and Dallas Long, Long and Randy Matson, Matson and George Woods in the last half-century of Olympics domination.
—David Barron, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Aug. 2021
There’s anticipation and some confusion, including a search for a missing release, but the group herds up and heads out, dispersing into the dark, two by two.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 16 Nov. 2020
Emerging slowly from the dust, Seward wrote, were: ten naked little boys, between six and twelve years old, tied together, two by two, by their wrists, . . .
—Michael D. Capaldi, National Review, 24 Oct. 2020
And here’s the part that proves the cosmos intends canoeists to use olive tubs: four of them, stacked two by two, fit perfectly in a standard, roughly 100-plus-liter portage pack.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 9 Sep. 2020
José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2023
But as dancers sway two by two around the stage, Swift stands alone.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2023
Just listen to any love song to know that most folks like to travel two by two.
—Bea Lewis, Sun Sentinel, 12 Jan. 2023
As the movie rolled, groups of children sat on the foam-padded floor, two by two or three by three or all alone.
—Andrea Stanley, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2022
In the best of times, United States shot putters come at the world two by two — Parry O’Brien and Bill Nieder, O’Brien and Dallas Long, Long and Randy Matson, Matson and George Woods in the last half-century of Olympics domination.
—David Barron, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Aug. 2021
There’s anticipation and some confusion, including a search for a missing release, but the group herds up and heads out, dispersing into the dark, two by two.
—Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 16 Nov. 2020
Emerging slowly from the dust, Seward wrote, were: ten naked little boys, between six and twelve years old, tied together, two by two, by their wrists, . . .
—Michael D. Capaldi, National Review, 24 Oct. 2020
And here’s the part that proves the cosmos intends canoeists to use olive tubs: four of them, stacked two by two, fit perfectly in a standard, roughly 100-plus-liter portage pack.
—Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 9 Sep. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'two by two.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near two by two
Cite this Entry
“Two by two.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/two%20by%20two. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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