leave no stone unturned

Meaning

This expression means to search thoroughly, investigate completely, or do everything possible to achieve a goal or find a solution. It is often used in professional, legal, or investigative contexts to show extreme dedication and effort.

Examples

• The police promised the victim's family that they would leave no stone unturned in their investigation.

  The police promised the victim's family that they would leave no stone unturned in their investigation.

• We must leave no stone unturned to find the source of the system error before the launch.

  We must leave no stone unturned to find the source of the system error before the launch.

• Our research team left no stone unturned while looking for historical documents.

  Our research team left no stone unturned while looking for historical documents.

• To prepare for the trial, the defense lawyers left no stone unturned.

  To prepare for the trial, the defense lawyers left no stone unturned.

• She left no stone unturned in her quest to find the perfect wedding venue.

  She left no stone unturned in her quest to find the perfect wedding venue.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ They left no stone unreturned.

  ✓ They left no stone unturned.

  Learners often confuse "unturned" (not flipped over) with "unreturned" (not given back).

• ✗ The detective did not leave any stone unturned.

  ✓ The detective left no stone unturned.

  While grammatically correct, "leave no stone unturned" is the standard, natural idiomatic form. Using "did not leave any" sounds unidiomatic.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The detective vowed to ___ to find the missing painting.

  💡 Search everywhere and try every possible method.

  Show answer

  leave no stone unturned

• We need to ___ during the auditing process to ensure there are no financial discrepancies.

  💡 Be extremely thorough and look at every detail.

  Show answer

  leave no stone unturned