just so

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌd͡ʒʌst ˈsəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌd͡ʒʌst ˈsoʊ/

Adverb

just so (not comparable)

2. In the precise manner indicated.

   Near-synonym: even so (archaic)

   If you don’t turn the knob just so, the door won’t open.

   • 2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 17:

     Each towel was folded just so. If it wasn't perfect, they did it again.

3. (Arranged) very neatly and tidily.
   • 2002 March 3, Lisa W. Foderaro, “When There's No Place Else”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2015:

     Jason, 14, who arrived more than two years ago after drifting through five foster homes and a psychiatric hospital, is showing visitors with evident pride how neatly the bookshelves in the living room are kept, how the sneakers in the mud room are lined up just so.

   • 2015 August 3, Erica Goode, “Solitary Confinement: Punished for Life”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 August 2015:

     “Everything has to be just so,” he [Lonnie Rose] said. “Being in a concrete box for a long time makes you even more O.C.D.”

   • 2018 October 22, Paul Tenorio, “Peter Vermes' singular attention to detail makes him perfect for Sporting Kansas City, but would it work for the USMNT?”, in The Athletic‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 March 2025:

     But the details in this room matter to Vermes, […] It’s why the water bottles in his office refrigerator are lined up just so […]

   • 2020 October 7, Shane O’Neill, “‘Baptized in Blackness’: Why Homecoming Is Vital to the Black College Experience”, in The New York Times‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 October 2025:

     “Your outfit has to be just so.” “We tend to have outfits that match.” “You’ve got to come, and you better come correct. I tell all the chicks, every now and then, ‘Look, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be walking around with that little bikini on.’ So we were flag girls, and we wore full uniforms. […]”

   • 2021, Tracey Lange, “Jackie”, in We Are the Brennans, London: Pan Books, published 2022, →ISBN:

     They didn’t even have time to speculate about what Grail wanted before Vivienne walked in seconds later. Even at midnight her appearance was just so. Smooth hair, tight rippy jeans, one of those no-shoulder gypsy shirts.

4. To the same extent.
   • 1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 367:

     Poor in quality are these classes [of poetry], just so rich in the number of songs and melodies are the other groups which constitute the wedding-songs proper.

5. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see just,‎ so

   Your dog is just so friendly.

   I like any flower, just so as it’s real.

Related terms

• just-so story

Further reading

• “just so” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “just so” (US) / “just so” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “just so, idiom”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• jousts