proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl 
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
2
: that has become a proverb or byword : commonly spoken of
the proverbial smoking gun
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
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 on the Web
In today’s cluttered content arena, where attracting proverbial eyeballs is an escalating challenge, there is one category exception.
—Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Over the past three years, NSU has won two national titles and finished second once, leaving schools such as Barry in the proverbial dust.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025
Hendrickson might still remain with the Bengals, but his comments could be the proverbial nail in the coffin between him and the team.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
William Karlsson’s big night With their backs against the proverbial ropes, the Golden Knights needed a standout performance from a star player and Karlsson was their best player for most of the night.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
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.
Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Over the past three years, NSU has won two national titles and finished second once, leaving schools such as Barry in the proverbial dust.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 13 May 2025
Hendrickson might still remain with the Bengals, but his comments could be the proverbial nail in the coffin between him and the team.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
William Karlsson’s big night With their backs against the proverbial ropes, the Golden Knights needed a standout performance from a star player and Karlsson was their best player for most of the night.
—Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
Cite this Entry
“Proverbial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proverbial. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
proverbial
adjective
pro·ver·bi·al
prə-ˈvər-bē-əl
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a proverb
proverbial wisdom
2
: commonly spoken of
the proverbial beginner's luck
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share