How to Use at arm's length in a Sentence

at arm's length

idiom
  • That's about the size of a postage stamp held at arm's length, and is a fair bit bigger than the full Moon on the sky.
    Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2010
  • But Stefanik didn't keep Trump at arm's length for long.
    Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 8 July 2024
  • Robinson hit a trio of big baskets in the fourth quarter that kept the Hornets at arm's length.
    Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 May 2021
  • Kansas kept Baylor at arm's length for most of the second half.
    David Smale, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2024
  • With that cushion, the Heat were able to keep the Bucks at arm's length until their flurry in the final seconds.
    Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2020
  • The second-year forward drew a foul on Gobert and his scoring play kept the Jazz at arm's length over the final two minutes.
    John Coon, Star Tribune, 17 June 2021
  • Most entrepreneurs try to keep them at arm's length, valuing their money more than their advice.
    Mark Gimein, The Week, 29 Nov. 2022
  • Kentucky kept their Buckeye counterparts at arm's length the rest of the way, never letting the lead get smaller than nine.
    Brendan Connelly, The Enquirer, 9 Apr. 2023
  • Youngkin kept Trump at arm's length in the campaign, as did McAuliffe with Biden (save two joint campaign rallies), for reasons that seem evident.
    Gary Langer, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2021
  • The blooming view is nominal with the small shifts in focus a lens makes for handheld clips at arm's length or present-to-camera recordings from a tripod.
    PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024
  • That tiny region of the sky - easily blocked by a grain of sand held at arm's length - contains thousands of galaxies, each a sprawling city of billions of stars.
    Phil Plait, Discover Magazine, 22 Oct. 2012
  • She is still weighed down by the grief of losing her father, so her primary tactic is to hold everyone but her sister at arm's length.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Travel hands-free and stash crucial items like passports and wallets at arm's length with the 20% off Metro Sling, a sleek belt bag available in nylon or vegan leather.
    Samantha Jones, Good Housekeeping, 28 Aug. 2023
  • Carter has been a consistent three-point shooter, but of late his triples have often come at times that swing momentum and this pair helped the Bucks keep the Magic at arm's length and set up a victory.
    Jim Owczarski, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2023
  • After the first half, Butler generally kept DePaul at arm's length.
    Wilson Moore, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Jan. 2023
  • The second problem was that the insurance contracts must be negotiated at arm's length to be valid for tax purposes.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024
  • The entire powertrain is mounted on a subframe, and hydraulically damped engine mounts keep noise and vibration at arm's length.
    John Phillips, Car and Driver, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Youngkin has been walking a careful line between politely keeping former President Donald Trump at arm's length while trying to convince Trump voters to show up at the polls.
    Peter Weber, The Week, 2 Nov. 2021
  • Of course, many also decide to move back to reap the benefits of big city life, which has now become available again—from the vibrant lifestyle to the myriad dining options to having countless conveniences at arm's length.
    Oleksiy Lubinsky, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2021
  • The creation of the commission itself was widely viewed as an effort to keep that idea at arm's length during the 2020 presidential campaign, even as both parties have used it to fire up their political bases and goose fundraising.
    John Fritze, USA TODAY, 8 Dec. 2021
  • Despite her desire to keep everyone at arm's length, Jen forms an unexpected friendship with fellow attendee Judy (Linda Cardellini), who is mourning her fiancee and harbors a secret.
    Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Discovery must legally remain at arm's length from WarnerMedia until the deal receives government approval.
    Brian Stelter, CNN, 4 Feb. 2022
  • The technologies' outcome, like the number of stars, is also stupefying: The Mesopotamians might have been off by a finger or so held at arm's length, maybe a degree of arc, and Hipparchus was off by about half a degree, or 30 arc minutes.
    Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at arm's length.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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