so-so

1 of 2

adverb

: moderately well : tolerably

so-so

2 of 2

adjective

: neither very good nor very bad : middling
a so-so performance

Examples of so-so in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
In 2020, a late-summer dry lightning burst sparked scores of fires, turning a so-so season into the state’s worst on record. Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Eight other QBs went before Purdy, an agile passer who’d started 46 straight games for Iowa State but stood 6-foot and had so-so arm strength. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024 Ripley won the match with a superplex followed by a Riptide in a so-so main event. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 The album is a so-so buffet of sounds that get called contemporary or urban: music that could have been produced at any point in the last 25 years, which isn’t the same as calling it timeless. Wesley Morris, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024 His role is small, but Chalamet makes an impression in a film that (inconceivably) has a so-so Meryl Streep, an outrageous Ariana Grande, and a livewire Tyler Perry. EW.com, 18 Feb. 2024 Schatz’s method nicks them for so-so competition and for rolling up their huge offensive totals in a dome. Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024 The river also is fed by melting snowpack in Colorado, which this year has seen a so-so snow season. Brooke Staggs, Orange County Register, 6 Feb. 2024 The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes is coming off a so-so (for him) season but has zero to prove as a two-time champ. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Things go from meh to worse when her best friend is laid off and her so-so relationship takes an unexpected and life-altering twist. The Editors, Town & Country, 4 Mar. 2023 His results, both in the big leagues and the minors over the past two seasons, have been so-so at best. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2023 Small turned in a so-so performance, allowing four hits, two runs and four walks with four strikeouts in 2⅔ innings and ultimately didn't earn a decision in a Brewers victory. Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2023 Brown basically felt the same — that the league’s intentions were good but that the outcome was so-so. Staff Writer follow, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023 Boise State doesn’t have a gimme left, and Nevada plays three of five on the road, where it’s been so-so this season. San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'so-so.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1542, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of so-so was circa 1530

Dictionary Entries Near so-so

Cite this Entry

“So-so.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/so-so. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

so-so

1 of 2 adverb
ˈsō-ˈsō
: fairly well : tolerably, passably
played the violin only so-so

so-so

2 of 2 adjective
: neither very good nor very bad
a so-so performance
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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