How to Use adage in a Sentence

adage

noun
  • Good things come to those who wait, or so the old adage goes.
    — Shayna Murphy, USA TODAY, 13 June 2019
  • But, to quote the adage, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
    — Jeanna Smialek, Bloomberg.com, 6 Mar. 2018
  • The old adage is abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym.
    — Michael Russo, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Mother knows best, the old adage goes.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Apr. 2026
  • The old adage was that money can’t buy time.
    — Big Think, 18 Sep. 2025
  • The days are long and the years are fast, or so the old adage says.
    — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 10 Dec. 2024
  • To the victor go the spoils, the adage tells us.
    — Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth, or so the old adage goes.
    — Ian Malone, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2019
  • That all starts with the old adage that teams should build from the net out.
    — Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 24 June 2026
  • The old adage says that one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
    — Holly Corbett, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
  • In this case, the adage still rings true—good things come to those who wait.
    — Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Oct. 2024
  • The hopeful glass-half-full adage has been around for decades.
    — Vicky Spratt, refinery29.com, 31 July 2020
  • And there's that adage about not wanting to see how the sausage gets made.
    — Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 7 June 2021
  • As the adage goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
    — Camille Bromley, WIRED, 1 July 2024
  • David Schaecter lived that adage every day of his life.
    — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The football adage is that to win games teams must run the ball and stop the run.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
  • But do consider the words of the first adage, too.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026
  • His words echoed the old adage that the best defense is offense.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
  • As the old adage goes, the only thing certain in life is change.
    — Rob Catalano, Forbes, 2 May 2022
  • As the adage goes, with great matchups comes great caffeine intake.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
  • As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect.
    — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
  • The misery of the bed-maker is kind of the whole point of the adage.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2022
  • As the adage goes, the road to success is seldom a straight line.
    — James Manso, Footwear News, 28 Apr. 2026
  • There’s an old technical adage – when in doubt, back it out.
    — Jay Woods, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The old adage is true, that the buck stops at the president’s desk.
    — James Freeman, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2020
  • Trust, but verify, as the adage goes.
    — Bob Woods, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The Rams will have a full week to reflect on that adage from their coach.
    — Adam Grosbard, Orange County Register, 6 Oct. 2024
  • That’s an old adage of strategy.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2026
  • What’s that old Premier League adage?
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Knowledge is power, the adage goes.
    — Heidi Reynolds-Stenson, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adage.' 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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