Idiom idiom
believe it or not
Meaning
This may be surprising, but it's true.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Believe it or not, I finished the project early.”
“Believe it or not, the small cafe down the street makes the best pizza in the city.”
“Believe it or not, the ancient ruins were discovered by a local farmer while he was simply digging a new well in his field.”
Anchors to
- 01
Adam and Eve
[Cockney slang]believe
- 02
believe one's ears
To believe that something which one hears is truly the case.
- 03
believe one's eyes
To believe that something which one directly sees is truly the case.
- 04
believe you me
An emphatic form of believe me: you (the subject) had better believe me (the speaker).
- 05
make believe
To pretend or imagine.
Last updated August 10, 2026