MEANING
To try every available way of finding something or achieving a desired result.
Use it for
describing a thorough search; showing determination to investigate all leads; promising that every reasonable avenue will be explored; contrasting exhaustive effort with a cursory attemptEmphasizes pursuing every available avenue, particularly during a search. Writing functions: Thorough persistence.
Words that belong together
- leave no stone unturned in a search
On the page
The archivist left no stone unturned in tracing the missing correspondence.
They promised to leave no stone unturned before declaring the equipment irreparable.
Word forms
- Base
- leave no stone unturned
Usage notes
Verbal idiom: leave/leaves/left/left/leaving no stone unturned. The negative no is part of the expression. Register: neutral. Commonness: common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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