200+ Zeugma Examples in Sentences With Shared Verbs

Zeugma is a figure of speech in which one word, most commonly a verb, governs two or more words in different senses, as in "She broke his car and his heart." The best zeugma examples pair a literal partner with a figurative one, so everyday verbs like lost, took, and caught produce a double meaning.

What Is Zeugma?

Zeugma, from a Greek word meaning "yoking," is a construction where a single verb, adjective, or preposition links to two or more partners and fits each partner in a different way. Unlike a pun, which plays on a word’s double meaning once, zeugma splits one word across two grammatical partners so both senses appear in the same sentence.

Before the exam, Leo lost his pencil and his nerve.

Common Zeugma Examples in Sentences

Losing your keys and your temper, breaking a car and a heart, and paying a bill and a compliment are the textbook zeugma examples, where one verb means two different acts at once.

• She broke his car and his heart.
• After the argument, Tom lost his keys and his temper.
• Grandpa took his hat and his leave before the speeches began.
• Mrs. Ortiz opened her door and her heart to the refugee family next door.
• Nobody on the team caught the ball or the coach’s joke.
• At the funeral, Maya held her tongue and her little brother’s hand.
• I kicked the ball and the habit of skipping practice in the same week.
• Omar raised his hand and the whole class’s hopes of a shorter test.
• The storm knocked out the power and every plan we had for the weekend.
• Did Priya lose her phone and her patience on the same afternoon?
• Dad made pancakes and a terrible pun before eight o’clock.
• A thief stole three watches and the headlines for a week.
• Before her finals, Lena pulled a muscle at the gym and an all-nighter at the library.
• Lucas drew the curtains and his own conclusions about the noise outside.
• Falling off the stage, the comedian cracked a rib and three more jokes.
• We caught the last train and a terrible cold on the trip home.
• Ana didn’t run the marathon or her bakery that week, because a fever kept her in bed.
• At the rally, the candidate shook a thousand hands and, with one careless remark, the voters’ confidence.
• Ben spilled the coffee and the secret in the break room.
• The August heat wilted the flowers and our enthusiasm.
• Rosa changed her shoes and her mind twice before the party.
• Our old dog lost his teeth but never his appetite.
• My uncle paid the bill and a compliment to the chef.
• Calm and precise, the witness left the room and a lasting impression on the jury.
• Carlos burned the toast and his bridges with the landlord in one morning.

Zeugma Examples in Everyday Life

At home, doing the laundry and your best, throwing a party and a tantrum, and keeping a receipt and your cool are household zeugma examples that turn a chore into a small joke.

• Mom did the laundry and her best to stay calm.
• On Saturday, Raj washed the car and his hands of the whole family argument.
• Aunt June threw a party and a tantrum in the same week.
• Before leaving for work, Kim locked the door and her worries away.
• Every morning, Hugo brews a pot of coffee and a plan for the day.
• Sara dropped her groceries and a hint about her birthday.
• A plumber fixed our sink and a price that made Dad gasp.
• We set the alarm and our hopes on an early start.
• Luis cleared the dishes and his name after the broken-vase mystery.
• On Friday, Noor turned thirty and the living room into a dance floor.
• The toddler hit the floor and a high note at the same moment.
• Dad picked up the toys, the pizza, and a cold from the delivery driver.
• Our cat broke a vase and the silence.
• When the blender died, Jess kept the receipt and her cool.
• The landlord raised the rent and a ruckus when tenants complained.
• Hana ran a hot bath and out of excuses to skip the gym.
• Is it possible to swallow a vitamin and your pride before breakfast?
• Mr. Kim waters his plants every morning and his bedtime stories down whenever the grandchildren stay over for the weekend.
• After the power cut, we lit candles and a fire under the electric company.
• Ivy took a shower and a stand against the new building rules.
• For the first time since the move, Grandpa cracked a walnut and a smile.

Zeugma Examples About Love and Romance

Stolen hoodies and hearts, a groom tying the knot and his shoelaces, and a brother proposing a toast and marriage give romance its zeugma, mixing a physical act with a feeling.

• She stole his hoodie and his heart in the same semester.
• On their first date, Liam picked up the check and the courage to ask for a second one.
• Ravi proposed a toast and marriage at his sister’s wedding, which upset the bride.
• Emma lost her heart in Paris and her luggage in Rome.
• Planning the wedding, he gave her a ring and a constant headache.
• Sophie fell in love and off her bike on the same summer afternoon.
• At the old diner, they shared a milkshake and their deepest secrets.
• Jamal broke the ice and a glass at the engagement party.
• Clara kissed her husband and her savings goodbye when he bought the boat.
• After the breakup, Mia cut her hair and all ties with Kevin.
• With shaking hands, the groom tied the knot and his shoelaces.
• Did Omar win the raffle and Leila’s affection in one night?
• Grandpa won Grandma’s heart and a dance contest in 1962.
• On their anniversary, Tara poured the champagne and her heart out.
• Ethan didn’t catch the bouquet or the hint that Zoe wanted to leave.
• Long after she moved away, Kevin carried her old letters and a torch for her.

Zeugma Examples at Work

Office workers who make copies, coffee, and a mistake, or a CEO who cuts a ribbon and three hundred jobs, show zeugma at work. A routine task and a serious outcome share one verb.

• The manager cut costs and corners, and the product failed inspection.
• Priya filed the monthly reports and a complaint about her boss.
• At the meeting, Dev drew a chart and several conclusions nobody agreed with.
• Our intern made copies, coffee, and a mistake that cost the firm a client.
• A new CEO cut the ribbon and three hundred jobs in the same month.
• Ms. Alvarez took notes and all the credit for the project.
• Sam lost his job and his appetite.
• The new hire pitched a tent at the team retreat and a proposal to the directors.
• Lucia closed the deal and the office early to celebrate.
• Nobody met the deadline or the new director before Friday.
• At the pottery studio, the owner fired the kiln and her lazy assistant on Monday.
• Aisha ran the meeting and out of time before the budget came up.
• The sales team hit their targets and the bar after work.
• Tomás repaired the printer and his reputation in one week.
• Did the boss raise our salaries or only the stakes?
• Kenji pinned the notice to the wall and his hopes on one last interview.
• During tax season, the supervisor caught the error and the flu.

Zeugma Examples at School

Teachers, students, and coaches supply these zeugma examples: a pupil passing a test and a note, a coach blowing his whistle and his top, and a lab catching fire and the principal’s attention.

• In one lesson, the science teacher exploded a balloon and three myths about gravity.
• Zara passed the test and a note.
• The class clown drew laughter and a mustache on the history poster.
• Our principal raised the flag and the school fees in the same assembly.
• Min-jun took a seat and a deep breath before his presentation.
• Mr. Hart collected the homework and his thoughts before the parents arrived.
• Last spring, the debate team won the trophy and the respect of every judge.
• Aiden lost the spelling bee but not his smile.
• Why did Kai drop his lunch tray and the chemistry class in the same week?
• Sofia cut class and paper snowflakes for the winter fair.
• The coach blew his whistle and his top when the team walked off the field.
• Our study group ate two pizzas and most of the night on one chapter.
• Nina filled in the answer bubbles and then the teacher about the fire drill.
• The chemistry lab caught fire and the principal’s attention.
• Jordan hit the books and the snooze button all week.

Zeugma Examples for Travel

Airports, fountains, and border crossings produce travel zeugma, such as a hotel taking passports and breath away, a coin and caution thrown in Rome, and a guard stamping a passport and his foot.

• At the airport, Farah checked her bags and her ex’s photos one last time.
• We missed the bus and our dog, who stayed home with Grandma.
• The hotel took our passports and our breath away.
• On the road trip, Dad lost the map and every argument about it.
• Carmen packed three swimsuits and zero expectations for the trip.
• The tour bus broke down on the mountain road, and so did Mr. Lopez.
• In Rome, Jack threw a coin into the fountain and caution to the wind.
• That ten-hour flight drained my phone battery and my patience.
• Tourists took photos and the last taxi from the station.
• Did Abby exchange her euros and vows in Las Vegas?
• Angry at the queue of tourists, the border guard stamped my passport and his foot when the line stopped moving again.
• We hit the road and every pothole.

Zeugma Examples With Food

Kitchen verbs like roll, cook, and grill turn into zeugma when Grandma rolls the dough and her eyes, Uncle Joe cooks the turkey and the books, and Dad grills burgers and a date.

• Grandma rolled the dough and her eyes.
• The TV chef whipped the cream and the audience into a frenzy.
• Before the guests arrived, Tom dressed the salad and the twins.
• At the family dinner, Ella stirred the soup and up trouble.
• Uncle Joe cooked the turkey and the books at his restaurant until a tax inspector noticed the missing money.
• Old Marco has served lasagna and two terms on the town council.
• Priya cut the cake and a deal with her brother over the last slice.
• Dad grilled the burgers and my date about his college plans.
• Our cheap toaster burned the bread and a hole in the budget.
• Samira salted the pasta and her story with exaggeration.
• Leo mashed the potatoes and the wrong button on the blender.
• My roommate ate my leftovers and his words after blaming the cat.

Funny Zeugma Examples

A pirate losing an eye, a leg, and every card game, and a magician pulling a rabbit and a hamstring are funny zeugma examples. The joke arrives with the last, absurd partner.

• The librarian checked out three mysteries and the new gym teacher.
• In one sneeze, Mr. Patel lost his glasses, his balance, and his dignity.
• Gary wore a tuxedo and a look of total panic.
• Dad threw a ball, his back out, and a fit about it.
• Stuck in the cabin for a week, the campers grew beards, tomatoes, and restless.
• Kara ran a half marathon, up a bill at the spa, and home before anyone saw her limp.
• Grandpa fell asleep and off the sofa during his own birthday speech.
• The magician pulled a rabbit from his hat and a hamstring during the bow.
• I took the exam and a nap in the same chair.
• The toddler painted the wall, the cat, and a picture of pure chaos.
• My phone died, and so did my excuse for missing the call.
• When he slipped, the waiter dropped the tray and his French accent.
• The intern fed the office fish and the rumor mill.
• Our pirate captain lost an eye, a leg, and every card game on the ship.
• Is it rude to pass the potatoes and judgment at the same dinner?
• Aunt Mei blew out the candles and her budget on the party.
• In neon shorts, the goalie stopped the ball and traffic.
• Jonas caught a fish, a sunburn, and a lecture from his wife on the same trip.
• Nobody took the hint or the last slice of pizza, so Dev ate it.
• Uncle Ray drove his new car and his whole family crazy.

Zeugma Examples That Work as Puns

The judge who passes the salt and a sentence and the dentist who filled teeth and his pockets are zeugma examples that double as puns, since the verb’s second sense matches the person’s job.

• Last winter, the tailor took in a suit and a stray cat.
• Before lunch, the dentist filled three teeth and his pockets.
• Mayor Grant’s gardener planted tulips and a rumor about his boss.
• Our pilot landed the plane and a job.
• In one afternoon, a surgeon closed the wound and the deal on a lake house.
• By day the barber cut hair, and by night a new jazz record.
• Out on the lake, the fisherman caught a trout and the drift of his wife’s hints.
• Hired for a three-hour reception, the photographer shot a wedding and a hungry glance at the buffet every few minutes.
• At dinner, the judge passed the salt and a harsh sentence.
• Officer Reyes booked a suspect and a vacation to Spain.
• Did the chef roast a chicken and the critic who panned his food?
• The farmer raised pigs and eyebrows with his new scarecrow.
• For a bribe, the boxer threw a punch and then the fight.
• Poor Eddie the electrician lost his job and his spark in the same week.

Famous Zeugma Examples in Literature

Belinda’s honour and brocade in Pope, Miss Bolo’s tears and sedan-chair in Dickens, and Tom Sawyer’s dust and glory are the most quoted zeugma examples in literature. Each one joins a physical object to an emotion or ideal.

Zeugma Examples in Poetry

Alexander Pope, Lewis Carroll, and Alfred Tennyson compress zeugma into verse, from Queen Anne taking counsel and tea to Snark hunters armed with forks and hope.

• In Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, the sylph Ariel fears some disaster will make Belinda stain her honour or her new brocade.
• Pope’s Ariel also wonders whether Belinda will lose her heart or her necklace at a ball.
• At Hampton Court in Pope’s poem, Queen Anne takes counsel one moment and tea the next.
• Lewis Carroll’s hunters in The Hunting of the Snark pursue their prey with forks and hope.
• Tennyson’s aging king in "Ulysses" says his son Telemachus works his work, and Ulysses works his own, with the verb dropped from the second half.

Zeugma Examples in Novels

Dickens’s Mr. Gamfield cudgelling his brains and his donkey and Tolkien’s Lobelia taking the point and the spoons are comic novel zeugma. O’Brien’s Lieutenant Cross bearing a strobe light and responsibility turns the device toward grief.

• In Charles Dickens’s The Pickwick Papers, Miss Bolo leaves a game of whist in Bath and goes straight home in a flood of tears and a sedan-chair.
• Mr. Gamfield, the chimney sweep in Oliver Twist, is cudgelling his brains and his donkey when he spots the workhouse notice.
• Tom and a well-dressed new boy fight in the first chapter of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and cover themselves with dust and glory.
• Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, in Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, takes the point of Bilbo’s gift and the silver spoons along with it.
• Lieutenant Jimmy Cross in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried bears a strobe light and responsibility for every soldier in his platoon.
• Amy Tan’s narrator in The Hundred Secret Senses describes a marriage as two people sharing a menu and a life.

Types of Zeugma With Examples

Cicero’s lust conquering shame, Peacham’s sentence with move in the middle, and hypozeugma lines like "Rain, traffic, and a flat tire ruined our trip" show the three positional types of zeugma. Grammatical zeugma adds cases where the shared word agrees with only one partner.

Prozeugma

Prozeugma places the governing verb in the first clause, as in Cicero’s lust conquering shame and Bacon’s histories that make men wise, and the later clauses drop the verb.

• In his speech Pro Cluentio, Cicero says that lust conquered shame, audacity fear, and madness reason.
• Francis Bacon’s essay "Of Studies" uses make once, then says histories make men wise, poets witty, and mathematics subtle.
• Hunger conquered pride; exhaustion, fear; hope, doubt.
• Maria loves jazz; her brother, opera; their father, silence.
• The first team won gold; the second, silver; the third, the crowd’s sympathy.
• Our dog ate the cake; the cat, the cream; the baby, the paper napkins.
• Winter brings snow to the hills, flu to the schools, and silence to the beaches.
• Ravi chose law; his sister, medicine; his cousin, a rock band.

Mesozeugma

A mesozeugma places the governing verb in the middle, as when neither rain nor snow nor a neighbor’s dog stopped the mail carrier, or when Peacham puts move between reward and persuasion.

• Henry Peacham, an Elizabethan rhetorician, placed the verb move mid-sentence, with hope of reward and fear of reproach before it and the persuasion of friends after it.
• Neither rain nor snow stopped the mail carrier, nor the neighbor’s dog.
• Hope of a raise kept Nadia at her desk, and fear of the layoffs.
• No tears moved the judge, nor promises, nor the letters from the defendant’s children.
• The children sang at the concert, and the parents, and even the janitor.
• Our coach resigned that spring, and the captain, and half the team.
• Her smile won the jury over, and her evidence.
• Money never tempted him, nor fame, nor the spotlight.

Hypozeugma

Hypozeugma saves the governing verb for the end, so friends, neighbors, and strangers helped after the flood, and lies, debts, and excuses ended a marriage.

• Friends, neighbors, and total strangers helped after the flood.
• Her wit, her warmth, and her terrible jokes won us over.
• Rain, traffic, and a flat tire ruined our trip to the coast.
• Not money, not fame, not even a free car tempted him to leave the band.
• The bread, the cheese, and the wine all came from the village market.
• Every teacher, every parent, and every student applauded the janitor’s retirement speech.
• Coffee, cold air, and pure panic woke me before the exam.
• His lies, his debts, and his excuses ended the marriage.

Grammatical Zeugma

Grammatical zeugma, called syllepsis in many handbooks, uses a shared word that agrees with only one partner, as in "The walls were painted blue and the ceiling white." A second case is "Jake likes pizza, and his parents sushi."

• The walls were painted blue and the ceiling white.
• Jake likes pizza, and his parents sushi.
• Mia has never and will never eat meat at a barbecue.
• Both twins were late, and Ella too.
• Either the students or the teacher has the missing chalk.
• Our neighbors have a boat, and Grandpa a canoe.
• Emma was thrilled and her friends jealous.
• I am exhausted, and you too?

Zeugma Examples for Kids

Puppies, monkeys, and frogs appear in these short zeugma examples for kids, such as a monkey stealing a banana and the show and Lily catching a frog and the giggles.

• Max brushed his teeth and his worries away before bed.
• At the zoo, the monkey stole a banana and the show.
• Lily caught a frog and the giggles.
• Our teacher lost her glasses and her place in the story.
• Sam made his bed and a promise to keep it tidy.
• The clown juggled three oranges and five jokes at the party.
• Mia drew a horse and a crowd of curious classmates.
• On the beach, Ben built a sandcastle and a new friendship.
• Did the baby take her first steps and a tumble on the same day?
• Ella fed the goldfish and her little brother’s endless curiosity about sharks, whales, and every other creature in the ocean.
• The dragon in Noah’s story breathed fire and a sigh of relief.
• Zoe opened her lunchbox and a long conversation about dinosaurs.

Zeugma Examples for Students

History and science supply these zeugma examples for students: scientists splitting the atom and public opinion, a revolution toppling a statue and a monarchy, and a lawyer resting her case and her feet.

• Senator Hale raised taxes and questions about his own finances.
• Last spring’s flood swept away the bridge and the town’s faith in its engineers.
• A young general captured the city and the nation’s imagination.
• Signed in a single afternoon, the treaty ended the war and the careers of three diplomats.
• Physicists split the atom and public opinion.
• Within a week, the revolution toppled a statue and a monarchy.
• In her essay, Ana argued her case and then with her editor.
• The 1929 crash broke hundreds of banks and millions of spirits.
• After the six-hour trial, the lawyer rested her case and her aching feet.
• Britain’s Industrial Revolution filled factories with workers and lungs with smoke.
• At twenty-two, the poet published her first book and her deepest fears.
• Galileo pointed his telescope at Jupiter and his critics toward the evidence.
• Did the new law close the loophole or only the debate?

Related

• Figures of Speech with Examples
• Chiasmus Examples
• Antithesis Examples Sentences

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