Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use proper in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, adverb, noun

Proper means suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. Example: “Now that was a proper breakfast.”

Examples of proper by meaning

adjectiveSuited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.

  • the proper time to plant potatoes
  • One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891

adjectiveFollowing the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous.

  • a very proper young lady

adjectiveBelonging to oneself or itself; own.

  • proper motion — proper left — proper right
  • Each animal has its proper pleasure, and the proper pleasure of man is connected with reason.1946, Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, I.20

adjectiveBeing strictly part of some other thing (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance), and not...

  • proper subset — proper ideal

adjectiveExcellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later...

  • Now that was a proper breakfast.

adjectiveUtter, complete.

  • When I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out, I felt a proper fool.

adverbProperly; thoroughly; completely.

  • Oh, they are buzzing round proper.'1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
  • “I used to pump the bloody organ for the carols, proper pissed usually.”1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 202
  • The kid towelled him up proper.1957, Ray Lawler, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Sydney: Fontana Books, published 1974, page 32

adverbProperly.

  • "But it's not many of us as can make 'em proper."1988, Mary Steele, Mallyroot's Pub at Misery Ponds, Ringwood: Puffin Books, page 68

More sentences with proper

  • Despite her proper upbringing, we found her manners to be terribly abrasive.From the entry abrasive
  • The expedition paused to allow for proper acclimatization at base camp.From the entry acclimatization
  • With proper planning, even the most difficult task can be accomplishable.From the entry accomplishable
  • Let’s make sure we don’t forget proper punctuation, let's not let those mistakes happen again.From the entry let's
  • Use scissors to cut them if you don't have proper shears.From the entry scissors
  • He spends far more on gambling than he does on living proper.From the entry spend
  • Proper martinis are made with London dry gin and dry vermouth.From the entry dry
  • Stop your infernal rabbiting! Use proper words or nobody will listen to you!From the entry rabbit
  • Mr. Jones will assume the position of a lifeguard until a proper replacement is found.From the entry assume
  • Much education and experience is required for proper identification of bird species.From the entry identification
  • If you don't practise proper hygiene, illness is sure to follow.From the entry follow
  • Proper maintenance of your cutlery will keep the blades from dulling.From the entry cutlery
  • In some cultures, it is expected that a proper housewife should bake.From the entry bake
  • I don't think we have a lot of leeway when it comes to proper formatting.From the entry leeway
  • I will not remain corseted by your notions of what is and is not proper!From the entry corset
  • Wearing faded baggy offends against the club's rules of proper dress.From the entry offend
  • The expedition was outfitted with proper clothing, food, and other necessities.From the entry outfit
  • Beyond the border proper, there are three small outposts not officially under government protection.From the entry outpost
  • If you are not sure of the proper etiquette, watch what others do and follow suit.From the entry follow suit
  • I will try to do a better job, henceforth, now that I know the proper technique!From the entry henceforth
  • I paid a hundred pounds for that, but it was a proper bump, mate.From the entry bump
  • The condominium lacks a proper dining room, but has a cosy dinette.From the entry dinette
  • It really ticks me off when people don't use proper punctuation.From the entry tick off
  • Proper behaviour is incumbent on all holders of positions of trust.From the entry incumbent
  • I've never been able to achieve a proper flutter on my flute.From the entry flutter
  • I'll give it a once-over for free, but a proper look will cost you.From the entry once-over
  • Proper nutrition is a cornerstone of geriatric health, yet it is often overlooked in home-care settings.From the entry geriatric
  • Because of the lack of proper tools, he always bodges the repair work.From the entry bodges

Meaning of proper

  1. adjective Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.
  2. adjective Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous.
  3. adjective Such that the preimage of every compact set is compact.

Full definition of proper

Questions about proper in a sentence

How do you use proper in a sentence?
Proper is used as an adjective, adverb and noun. For example: “Now that was a proper breakfast.”
What is a short sentence with proper?
“a very proper young lady”
What does proper mean?
Proper means suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: proper (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use proper in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/proper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.