ivory tower

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.

“I use these examples to show my team that we can’t be ivory tower operators.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 2, 2026

Often operating in ivory tower silos and echo chambers, we scientists do an incredibly poor job of explaining to the public what and why we’re studying, our methodology, and the potential advantages of our work.

From Slate • Jun. 27, 2025

Though Dr. Mott spent her career in some of academia’s elite spaces, she was firmly committed to the idea that scholarship should be grounded and tangible, not succumbing to ivory tower abstraction.

From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2024

They believe civics is unnecessary and history is just an ivory tower subject for pinheaded policy wonks and bespectacled academics.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2023

Then unlock the ivory tower, abolish the tyrannies of superannuated superstitions, and give the people vision, without which they perish.

From Unicorns by Huneker, James