Definition of example in English:



  • 1A thing characteristic of its kind or illustrating a general rule.

    ‘advertising provides a good example of an industry where dreams have faded’
    • ‘Paramesvara gave several illustrative examples of the method in his commentary on the Aryabhatiya.’
    • ‘Bulgarian history also provided some modern examples of architecture and style.’
    • ‘Its definitions are generally supported by examples of usage taken from the corpus.’
    • ‘These are only some illustrative examples from myriad stories and they go back several years.’
    • ‘As just one of many examples we already provide care for the frail and vulnerable in our society directly into their homes.’
    • ‘He said that this was an example of a general immunity for acts done in the course of litigation.’
    • ‘I'm desperately trying to recall examples to illustrate any of this, and completely failing.’
    • ‘If any of you can provide me with examples of this character's cretinhood, I will happily publish them.’
    • ‘What I love about the best bloggers is how they use specific personal examples to illustrate a point.’
    • ‘Noun gender is an example of a more general phenomenon, that of inflection classes.’
    • ‘The scenes and stories of people in Africa provide dramatic examples of extreme poverty.’
    • ‘In these two examples, the character becomes a friend and helper to the hero.’
    • ‘It was intended only as a general example of how language use and acceptability varies.’
    • ‘Among her examples were bags, picture frames, and wall hangings in a variety of styles and work disciplines.’
    • ‘In spite of his stupidity, or maybe because of it, Goodman is a fine example of a character we love to hate.’
    • ‘Such detail is characteristic of the fascinating examples and cases explored in this book.’
    • ‘To establish this, Porter probes both the general context and specific examples.’
    • ‘The strap-ends are decorated with animals and are the largest and among the finest examples from the period.’
    • ‘Some illustrative examples will serve to show the behaviour that is required of law schools by this model.’
    • ‘They provide one of the few examples of true monogamy among the mammals.’
    specimen, sample, exemplar, exemplification, instance, case, representative case, typical case, case in point, illustration
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    1. 1.1 A written problem or exercise designed to illustrate a rule.
      ‘a workbook and a data set will enable the researcher to follow worked examples’
      • ‘The mathematician works on and acts on the given examples, following rules implicit in pure intuition.’
      • ‘Try it out on the examples in the exercises, for which a pencil mark will substitute for the peanuts.’
      • ‘He provided examples for us to discuss between ourselves and raised some fascinating legal points.’
      • ‘Any book on calculus will contain many similar examples and exercises for you to practice.’
      • ‘Does anyone of you have some experience in it, and could give some examples of exercises, or rituals?’
  • 2A person or thing regarded in terms of their fitness to be imitated.

    ‘it is important that parents should set an example’
    ‘he followed his brother's example and deserted his family’
    • ‘The winners of the awards will be those who provide excellent examples of good youth work practice.’
    • ‘It uses sporting figures as examples and role models, giving the children someone to relate to.’
    • ‘Finally, yes Muslims believe Muhammad is a perfect example for us to try and imitate.’
    • ‘He then took a serious tone and spoke of the need for leading officials to set an example.’
    • ‘Maggie Stratton saw first hand how her example could be followed in our county.’
    • ‘She was, and remains, one of the finest examples of making it big on one's own terms.’
    • ‘What a shining example of the younger generation and their respect for the elderly.’
    • ‘You are your child's best teacher, so set an example through your own behaviour.’
    • ‘One of the key recommendations was the use of role models to set an example to younger generations.’
    • ‘The seniors must set an example to the juniors by their conduct on and off the field.’
    • ‘He wished more young people would take a leaf out of his book and follow his example.’
    • ‘The Gospel offers both good and bad examples with regard to how this ought to be done.’
    • ‘It feels it should set an example by reducing the numbers of cars in the city.’
    • ‘The most key people in setting an example to the next generation are parents and guardians.’
    • ‘We seek to follow the example of Christ who calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves.’
    • ‘If they can't set an example to their child when they're young then will it really know any better?’
    • ‘He is also trying to set an example to every group of workers fighting against low pay.’
    • ‘Other writers stressed the need for a samurai to set an example to the lower orders of society by his conduct.’
    • ‘Withington said he had to take a stand on the issue to set an example for his boys.’
    • ‘She spoke of her as a very diligent student, a girl who was a good example for all to follow.’
    precedent, lead, guide, model, pattern, blueprint, template, paradigm, exemplar, ideal, standard
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be exampled
  • Be illustrated or exemplified.

    ‘the extent of Allied naval support is exampled by the navigational specialists provided’
    • ‘Apparently they brought in 4.7 million last year, but the outgoing cash was minimal as exampled by the 29k for scholarships from their general fund.’
    • ‘It is concerned with ethics: with examination of his own errors and evasions and - especially significantly - is concerned with them as they are exampled through style, through aesthetics.’
    • ‘The vicarious thrill of teaching the reprobate or rapscallion a thing or two fueled anew the public love affair with the deadly detective, best exampled by S.W.A.T.’
    • ‘If you do not ask the question, other judges, as exampled by this judge, will say, ‘But you, as it were, studiously avoided asking the question that mattered’.’
    • ‘In what way might equanimity be exampled as important in that respect?’
    • ‘In the most profound show of genius exampled in the drawing, there is, next to the hand on the paper but seemingly miles beyond the hand in perspective, a parabola, a U.’
    • ‘In the research we have done in the past year we have found some important failures of the industry to offer stable funds for long term ownership as exampled by the 33 year old Permanent Portfolio fund.’
    • ‘Another synergetic relationship involving a proactive government partner is exampled by prison privatization in the US.’
    • ‘Rare started with the underrated Blast Corps, which exampled how well explosions could look on the N64.’
    • ‘Attempts in the past to foster non-argumentative discussion have fail as exampled by the non-debate thread furor.’
    • ‘We are built this way, and though we might strive for an ideal of non-being as exampled by the perfect servant above, it is against our nature to do so and may be unattainable.’
    • ‘Definitions of pleasure are entirely relative, exampled most evidently by masochism or self destructive tendencies.’


  • for example

    • Used to introduce something chosen as a typical case.

      ‘many, like Hilda, for example, come from very poor backgrounds’
      • ‘Japan, for example, bases its prices on a weighted average of prices in other markets.’
      • ‘For example, a lead target is bombarded with a beam of accelerated nickel or zinc ions.’
      • ‘For example, generalists are tired of hearing the same old lectures on cardiac failure.’
      • ‘On the other hand helmets may help in preventing a fractured skull for example.’
      • ‘They could get an extra few quid every time they answered a question directly, for example.’
      • ‘This time last season, for example, Burnley hit a similar run of form having got off to a bad start.’
      • ‘Younger children have to be made aware of what to do, for example, if they lose their parents in a shop.’
      • ‘I had been told that less than a quarter of residents under fifty, for example, vote.’
      • ‘Take, for example, the shutting of a small girl in a locker by three older girls.’
      • ‘An astonishing number of people already listen to radio via the net, for example.’
      • ‘There they have been disguised in many cunning ways, for example inside garden sheds.’
      • ‘Some areas, for example Tadworth, will have no bus service at all in any direction.’
      • ‘When a firm is taken over, for example, there is no obligation on the new owner to shore up a fund in deficit.’
      • ‘For example, the initial design of a product determines how much of it we need for a given use.’
      • ‘Credit cards, for example, typically charge some four or five times the cost to the bank.’
      • ‘There are so many variables, for example interest rates have an effect on demand.’
      • ‘The average life expectancy, for example, rose in China much more than it did in India.’
      • ‘If they are off the road, for example on a grass verge, the district council then has to be notified.’
      • ‘The theft of the items could have been subsequent to the murder and not the reason for it, for example.’
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  • make an example of

    • Punish as a warning or deterrent to others.

      ‘he had been imprisoned so that the air force could make an example of him’
      • ‘It wouldn't take long to get these youths to realise they couldn't carry on causing trouble once people had been made an example of.’
      • ‘The company had been made an example of and the breaches were made by the old company, and there had been no breaches of significance by the new company - certainly none that came to mind.’
      • ‘Forgiveness might be something he can hope for in the long term, but in the short term he deserves to be made an example of, and not just by the league in which he plays.’
      • ‘This is the sort of thing I like to make an example of.’
      • ‘The professional driver is outraged that he's been made an example of while, he says, the borough's fly tippers get away with dumping van-loads of rubbish on verges, in back alleys, and on country roads.’
      • ‘But if they do catch him I think he should be made an example of and maybe fewer shopkeepers will feel the need to close.’
      • ‘And I think that, you know, probably anyone who you make an example of, you are probably going to mistreat in some way.’
      • ‘But Lorgun's anger had made his wish to humiliate Bale, to punish him beyond all else, to make an example of what would happen if this uprising were to occur again.’
      • ‘This was the prudent thing to do but I dare say that had I committed a crime, I would have been arrested and prosecuted and made an example of.’
      • ‘I think I was made an example of in court and the ball has already started rolling for my appeal.’
      • ‘I only hope whoever did this can be caught and made an example of by charging them for the work required to clean up the fountain.’
      • ‘Teenagers who do this should be made an example of and so they should have been locked up.’
      • ‘I know, you're thinking I'm completely crazy, but as far as I'm concerned, she probably didn't do anything that tons of other people haven't and don't do every day, but she got caught and is being made an example of.’
      • ‘‘I know in my mind… that what we did was right and we are being made an example of by a colonel who wants to see a certain MP burned and the rest of us are going down also,’ he wrote.’
      • ‘The question on everyone's lips is when someone will be made an example of when he or she is found guilty of abusing public trust for stealing money.’
      • ‘But base political motives are bound to flow through town seeking out people to blame and the first questioner of these movements tends to be singled out and made an example of.’
      • ‘I was fired and made an example of to shut everyone else up.’
      warning, caution, lesson, deterrent, admonition
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Late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin exemplum, from eximere ‘take out’, from ex- ‘out’ + emere ‘take’. Compare with sample.