byword

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In historical terms, Suez is a byword for the humiliation of a once-great but declining power.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Once tourist fodder, the musical has remained a byword for hokey commercialism.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

“Goldilocks” was the byword for the bull market of the past few years, but now the three bears—oil, gold, and the Fed—are on the prowl, and there may be no happy ending.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

The word Bataclan has since become a byword in France for extreme Islamist attacks, in much the same way that 9/11 did in the US.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2025

The Northfarthing barley was so fine that the beer of 1420 malt was long remembered and became a byword.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien