nine times out of ten
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
If I hadn't made that bet, and hadn't then gone both ways, nine times out of ten Jude would have shown a beaten hand and raked in half the pot — while the lads trashed me for letting him off lightly.
you you just show them something to back off, as you say and my way of doing that is slow down and then nine times out of ten once they've got the hint, well I'll sp speed it up again.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.
Common questions
What does “nine times out of ten” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “nine times out of ten” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.