white elephant
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.
Costing £250m, it was substantially cheaper than Supertram but critics said it lacked ambition, while others branded it a costly white elephant, noting that nowhere else in the UK had built a new trolleybus line.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025
According to Buddhist lore, when she conceived, the queen dreamed that an auspicious white elephant entered her womb.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024
But the aging ship has in recent years become more of a white elephant in need of millions of dollars in repairs just to stay afloat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2024
This deed came about in the 1990s when Mr Trump said Mar-a-Lago was too expensive to be preserved as a private residence, calling it a "white elephant" that was "almost impossible to sell".
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2023
On the page, red diamond-covered trailers passed by first, and each one advertised its contents: roaring lions and tigers, charging rhinos and furious hippos, and a majestic white elephant at the very end.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
