apples to apples

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Comparing similar things to each other

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

So sánh những thứ tương tự với nhau

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: comparing two types of apples
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

We should compare the prices of the two cars apples to apples

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “apples to apples” mean?

Comparing similar things to each other Literally: comparing two types of apples

Is “apples to apples” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.