1
as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
Mom's favorite byword is "You can get more flies with honey than with vinegar"
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in classic
the most perfect type or example
nationally, Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive has become a byword for luxury retailing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of byword
The event became a byword in the militia movement, influencing Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
—
Daily Briefing, AZCentral.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Soho House: From cool London origins to global influence
Founded on London’s Greek Street in 1995, Soho House rapidly became a byword for luxury, exclusivity, and a vibrant creative scene.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025
Moreover, in the case of Kafka, a highly idiosyncratic writer, whose very name has become a byword for modern alienation and bureaucratic absurdity, the influence of his elegant and long-canonical early translators Willa and Edwin Muir still looms large.
—Mark Harman
august 8, Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Before Wales’ women’s teams were given names on the back of their shirts in 2019, Fishlock’s was the one people could reel off, a byword for Welsh women’s football.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for byword
Daily Briefing, AZCentral.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Soho House: From cool London origins to global influence
Founded on London’s Greek Street in 1995, Soho House rapidly became a byword for luxury, exclusivity, and a vibrant creative scene.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2025
Moreover, in the case of Kafka, a highly idiosyncratic writer, whose very name has become a byword for modern alienation and bureaucratic absurdity, the influence of his elegant and long-canonical early translators Willa and Edwin Muir still looms large.
—Mark Harman
august 8, Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Before Wales’ women’s teams were given names on the back of their shirts in 2019, Fishlock’s was the one people could reel off, a byword for Welsh women’s football.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for byword
Recent Examples of Synonyms for byword
Noun
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On the other hand, perhaps this is one of those rare and unforeseen opportunities that give rise to the proverb of no guts, no glory.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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For centuries, the proverb has reminded us that seeing is believing.—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Oscilloscope’s roots in New York’s music and film scenes run deep and that quirky green logo has been the opening act for so many of our favorite indie classics of the past decade and a half or so.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Sep. 2025
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Over the decades, the Sundance Film festival morphed from a classics and good-for-you granola film showcase to a vital hub in indie distribution, serving as a gatekeeper and exhibition platform for filmmakers and a farm system for emerging talent heading for Hollywood.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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How To Play Wordle Wordle is a daily word puzzle game where your goal is to guess a hidden five-letter word in six tries or fewer.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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The two men shared warm words, often walking side by side as military bands and mounted troops staged elaborate ceremonies on the castle grounds.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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And, of course, Sundance is a manifestation of that.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
16 Sep. 2025
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Sabrina Carpenter is manifestation’s best friend.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Hats, t-shirts, jerseys, wristbands, belts, and much more featuring John Cena's logos and sayings are now available to fans.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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With the deployment of models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT models, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, DeepSeek’s R and V series models, Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity AI and countless others, the vast majority of AI processing across the industry is already inference processing.—
Jim McGregor,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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The 48 megapixel camera in the premium models houses a telephoto lens with 1x, 2x, 4x and 8× optical zoom and 8K recording capabilities.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The commission will be hosting hearings this fall to gather public opinion on the flag, seal and motto finalists before making a final recommendation.—
Isabelle Friedman,
Boston Herald,
16 Sep. 2025
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But, that’s sort of the motto behind the Episcopal Church.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Their way to rock-and-roll sublimity, to headbanging apotheosis, is comprehensively barred.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
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The apotheosis of Soderbergh’s fascination with close-ups is his 1999 crime thriller The Limey, about Wilson, an English ex-convict who comes to Los Angeles to find out what happened to his missing daughter and, upon finding out that she was murdered, embarks on a revenge mission.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Byword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/byword. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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