by the numbers
8
4.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
metódicamente
- You have to get your plan down on paper and then go by the numbers.
- go by the numbers
- break it down by the numbers
- judge my worth by the numbers
And they found that by the numbers, sales, employee engagement and client satisfaction all increased.
- And they found that by the numbers, sales, employee engagement and client satisfaction all increased.
- It was getting to the point where we were harming more patients that we were helping just by the numbers.
Examples
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Here's the thing: going by the numbers so far, Romney got 2 million fewer votes than John McCain did.
Blog text (7) -
And they found that by the numbers, sales, employee engagement and client satisfaction all increased.
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I know that, but we did it by the numbers here.
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Maybe we do this by the numbers.
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We only go by the numbers.
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Let's do it by the numbers.
Fiction book (1993) -
Take it by the numbers, because Burnside isn't going to score anyway, so there's no big hurry.
Fiction book (1996) -
We should follow the safety protocols and do everything by the numbers.
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To ensure a successful project, you must approach it by the numbers.
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The chef prepared the dish by the numbers, following the recipe step by step.
Synonyms
55
3.9
Following rules and official instructions exactly
27
4.0
In an organized step by step way
Antonyms
How Methodical
Surface Forms
Morphology
by + the + number
Although the words 'by' and 'the' are function words and 'numbers' denotes counting, the idiomatic sense 'in a precise, methodical way, following rules or steps' is a metaphorical extension not fully predictable from the literal parts. Learners might get a vague clue (numbers → precision/measure), but the specific procedural/idiomatic meaning usually requires prior exposure, so it is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
By the numbers comes from the simple image of following a numbered list or recipe, where you do step 1, then step 2, exactly as written. So, to do something by the numbers means to work in a careful, exact way, following the rules or steps.