one of those things

noun phrase

informal
—used to refer to a bad or unfortunate experience that happened and to say that such experiences can happen to anyone
I missed the train and had to take a later one. It was just one of those things, I guess.

Examples of one of those things in a Sentence

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The incredible power that exists today means that every one of those things will happen and society needs to be ready. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 22 Oct. 2026 The researchers keep increasing the wind speed until one of those things happens. — Daniel Wolfe, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026 Slides are one of those things that earn their space quickly on a long-haul travel day. — Samantha Leal, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2026 Like, even just sitting with one of those things produces this paralysis. — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for one of those things

Rhymes for one of those things

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Browse Nearby Words

one of these days
one of those things
one of us
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“One of those things.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/one%20of%20those%20things. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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