in the name of

1. Under the designation of, as in They burned witches at the stake in the name of piety . [Late 1300s]

2. in one's own name . On one's own behalf, as in Mary signed the check for John in her own name . [Late 1800s]

3. Under the possession or ownership of, as in The certificate of ownership was rightfully in my name . [Mid-1900s]

4. By the authority of, as in Open up, in the name of the law! [Late 1300s]

5. in God's or heaven's name ; in the name of God or heaven . With appeal to, as in In the name of God, stop that noise! or What in heaven's name are you doing? [c. a.d. 900]

6. On behalf of, as in She made a donation in her daughter's name . [Late 1300s]

Example Sentences

Justice and free speech are getting crushed in the name of “justice” and “free speech.”

From Slate

One civilization is authoritarian, which claims to rule in the name of the people; the other is an anarchistic society in which everyone looks out for one another.

From Los Angeles Times

Such contributions by right-wing or Republican entities and candidates were often made in the name of Salame or other FTX insiders “as straw donors to conceal the identity of the true donor, Bankman-Fried,” as FTX asserts in a lawsuit seeking the return of $3.5 million from the Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC devoted to securing a GOP Senate majority.

From Los Angeles Times

Those adjustments, which included giving some borrowers credit for years spent in forbearance, were made in the name of correcting what the administration argued were record-keeping errors, bad management and predatory practices by the companies servicing federal student loans.

From Los Angeles Times

She's a movie star's wife at this point in her story, well past her days of setting bombs in the name of struggle.

From Salon

Related Words

• through