know better

Idioms

Be able to recognize something as wrong or not possible, as in Mary should know better than to leave her child alone in the house, or Try to get in without a ticket? You know better than that. [c. 1700]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Her husband Jonathan believes there is a "cultural" problem within maternity services that midwives believe they know better as they are the professionals.

From BBC

Watching Jimbo, Grandpa said, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that monkey was laughing at us.”

From Literature

If you didn't know better you'd swear he was the losing coach, not the renaissance man.

From BBC

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that this family’s mouths were under repair.

From Literature

“You are eleven years old and should know better,” she scolded.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023