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
Thompson, who some Rockets officials privately predict could become as dynamic and dominant as any of their young talents, put Curry in the proverbial straitjacket.
—Anthony Slater, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
The company knew the proverbial catch was that, once the free trial period ended, federal customers who had accepted the offer and installed the upgrades would effectively be locked into keeping them because switching to a competitor at that point would be costly and cumbersome.
—Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2025
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason, talked last week about having a salary-cap expert on their New Heights podcast and Fox Sports’ Nick Wright threw his hat into the proverbial ring.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2025
For anyone who loves free-form avant-jazz, Hyphen Dash’s new album, Basement 626, will strike the proverbial experimental chord.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 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.
Anthony Slater, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
The company knew the proverbial catch was that, once the free trial period ended, federal customers who had accepted the offer and installed the upgrades would effectively be locked into keeping them because switching to a competitor at that point would be costly and cumbersome.
—Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2025
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason, talked last week about having a salary-cap expert on their New Heights podcast and Fox Sports’ Nick Wright threw his hat into the proverbial ring.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2025
For anyone who loves free-form avant-jazz, Hyphen Dash’s new album, Basement 626, will strike the proverbial experimental chord.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 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 13 Apr. 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