1
as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
Mom's favorite byword is "You can get more flies with honey than with vinegar"
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2
as in classic
the most perfect type or example
nationally, Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive has become a byword for luxury retailing
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Examples of byword in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In recent years, Portland has become a byword for fashionable left-wing guff, including the notion that crime and homelessness are little more than voluntary social constructs that are better fought with kind words and substantial welfare spending than with the assiduous enforcement of the law.
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The Editors, National Review, 23 May 2024
The riverside market town, Totnes, has become a byword for an outdoorsy, artistic community—catnip to the tourists who bunch around the estate agent windows.
—Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 3 May 2024
The designer, who became a byword for glamour, was even written into the popular series’ script.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Getty Still a byword for effortless elegance, the ruthlessly competitive and deftly strategic queen of Parisian fashion will be played by none other than the Oscar-winning French star of Three Colors: Blue, The English Patient, and Chocolat.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for byword 
The Editors, National Review, 23 May 2024
The riverside market town, Totnes, has become a byword for an outdoorsy, artistic community—catnip to the tourists who bunch around the estate agent windows.
—Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 3 May 2024
The designer, who became a byword for glamour, was even written into the popular series’ script.
—Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
Getty Still a byword for effortless elegance, the ruthlessly competitive and deftly strategic queen of Parisian fashion will be played by none other than the Oscar-winning French star of Three Colors: Blue, The English Patient, and Chocolat.
—Radhika Seth, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for byword
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'byword.' 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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“Byword.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/byword. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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