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 other words, aging boomers have voted themselves increasingly lavish benefits, putting them on future generations’ proverbial credit card.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rozier’s play fell off the proverbial cliff the following season, a level of regression extremely rare for a player in his prime.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
This is the first Super Bowl ad for Donaldson, 27, the proverbial beast of YouTube, with more subscribers than anyone else on the social media platform.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
Determined and with a gift for numbers, Payne quickly climbed that proverbial ladder to become general manager of the facility, which by then was a Super 8.
—Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
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Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026
Rozier’s play fell off the proverbial cliff the following season, a level of regression extremely rare for a player in his prime.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 10 Feb. 2026
This is the first Super Bowl ad for Donaldson, 27, the proverbial beast of YouTube, with more subscribers than anyone else on the social media platform.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 9 Feb. 2026
Determined and with a gift for numbers, Payne quickly climbed that proverbial ladder to become general manager of the facility, which by then was a Super 8.
—Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for proverbial
Cite this Entry
“Proverbial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proverbial. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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
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