so to speak

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.

Some are already beating the drum, so to speak.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

"Parents have, so to speak, taken power over the schools and started reporting things. Except that not everything they report is necessarily accurate," said Carla Bonnet of the FO union.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

The catch, so to speak, is that the boats must travel much farther north—to fisheries 220 miles above the Aleutian Islands, the crabbers’ old hunting grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

"Before, it was unimaginable. Now, we've invented a new field, so to speak."

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

Of course he’s had a bit of schooling, so to speak — we all have — since we left home, or he’d be so terrified he’d just fling the Ring in the River and bolt.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien