in a nutshell

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word in a nutshell. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word in a nutshell, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say in a nutshell in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word in a nutshell you have here. The definition of the word in a nutshell will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofin a nutshell, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

The expression refers to the tidy, compact package.

Etymology

Calque of New Latin in nuce, derived from an anecdote in Pliny the Elder, who ascribes to Cicero the claim that the whole Iliad was once written on parchment and enclosed within a nutshell (Naturalis Historia 7.21.85).

Pronunciation

Adverb

in a nutshell

  1. (idiomatic) In summary; briefly or simply.
    He had a lot to say, but his answer, in a nutshell, was no.
    • 2019 May 1, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
      Sadio Mané wasted a glorious chance in the first half and, late on, Mohamed Salah turned his shot against a post after a goal-line clearance had spun his way. That, in a nutshell, perhaps sums up the difference between Messi and the players on the next rung below – the ones who can be described as great footballers without necessarily being football greats.
    • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, , →OCLC, part I:
      The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut.

Synonyms

Translations