Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for par for the course. Search instead for par+for+the+course.
Synonyms

par for the course

Idioms  

  1. An average or normal amount; just what one might expect. For example, I missed three questions, but that's par for the course. This term comes from golf, where it refers to the number of strokes needed by an expert golfer to finish the entire course. Its figurative use for other kinds of expectation dates from the second half of the 1900s.

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.

And while that should be seen as par for the course, McCullum and Brook also deserve credit for their tactical calls on this trip.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

But in “Industry,” that’s all par for the course.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2026

Thursday’s benign reading of 16 points, a level that indicates broad market neutrality, seems par for the course in a market that’s growing inured to political risks.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

“We like to say that volatility is the toll we pay to invest. It is par for the course and this year very well could live up to that reputation.”

From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026

“This castle, though, sounds pretty much par for the course for us. So, I guess we know where we’re going next.”

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.