by way of explanation
idiom
: as a reason or reasons
The company offered little by way of explanation for the delays.
Examples of by way of explanation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The author offers little more than platitudes by way of explanation for the decline of Christianity in the Middle East and fails to properly place the decline in any coherent historical context.
—
Samuel Sweeney, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2021
Kroll told a story by way of explanation.
—New York Times, 3 Dec. 2020
Earlier this year, after Trump used the term in his State of the Union address, Jim Morhard, NASA’s deputy administrator, by way of explanation for the president’s choice of words, tweeted a skewed interpretation of the concept.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Samuel Sweeney, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2021
Kroll told a story by way of explanation.
—New York Times, 3 Dec. 2020
Earlier this year, after Trump used the term in his State of the Union address, Jim Morhard, NASA’s deputy administrator, by way of explanation for the president’s choice of words, tweeted a skewed interpretation of the concept.
—Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near by way of explanation
Cite this Entry
“By way of explanation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by%20way%20of%20explanation. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share