a certain
idiom
1
—used to refer to a quality that is noticed but that is difficult to explain or describe
She has a certain elegance about her.
The house has a certain charm.
2
formal
—used with the name of a person one does not know
In 1889, a certain Mr. Kelly made a large donation to the church.
Examples of a certain in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Those agreements generally mean that if ICE flags a certain inmate in their jail, the jail will hold the inmate for up to 48 hours to give ICE agents time to pick them up.
—
Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
Each player plays a certain amount of actions in their turn, the round ends and after three rounds the game is over.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Is there a hope for a certain number of seasons to accomplish that?
—Staff Author, EW.com, 24 July 2025
Those included an obligation for Unicredit to maintain the level of loans granted in Italy for a certain period of time, and to cease all activity in Russia.
—Afp, Fortune, 23 July 2025
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Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
Each player plays a certain amount of actions in their turn, the round ends and after three rounds the game is over.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Is there a hope for a certain number of seasons to accomplish that?
—Staff Author, EW.com, 24 July 2025
Those included an obligation for Unicredit to maintain the level of loans granted in Italy for a certain period of time, and to cease all activity in Russia.
—Afp, Fortune, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for a certain
Cite this Entry
“A certain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20certain. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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