say for

idiom

used with words such as something, little, a lot, etc., to show that someone or something does or does not deserve to be praised, admired, etc.
It says a lot for her that she stayed in the game even though she was injured.
The students' low test scores don't say much for the education they're receiving.

Examples of say for in a Sentence

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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.
Loading your audio article SAN JOSE – No one can say for sure whether rookie centerman Macklin Celebrini will be matched up against fellow No. 1 overall draft pick Connor McDavid on Saturday afternoon when the San Jose Sharks face the Edmonton Oilers to begin a quick two-game road trip. Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 21 Dec. 2024 These objections aside, the simple fact is that no one can say for certain what Trump’s mass deportation plan will look like because no specifics have been revealed, with the administration instead filling the void with dangerous rhetoric. David Gilbert, WIRED, 17 Dec. 2024 Fijian health and law enforcement officials are continuing to investigate and did not say for certain whether the illnesses were caused by tainted alcohol. Max Hauptman, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024 All the actress can say for certain is that Mrs. Chen is a simulacrum of her own mother. Josh Weiss, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024 Scientists can’t say for sure that is happening because of the feature’s lumpy appearance and curious lack of flow features. Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024 What’s more, historians can’t say for sure that they were crafted to resemble dragons. Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Oct. 2024 No one can say for sure, but a lot of that would probably come out of the pockets of consumers, costing the typical middle-income household about $1,700 a year, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2024 If anything, the switch this summer from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris only made these races more competitive, and all anyone can say for sure is that when the votes are counted in November things are going to be close. Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Say for.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/say%20for. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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