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pull out all the stops

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Idioms and Phrases

Use all the resources or force at one's disposal, as in The police pulled out all the stops to find the thief . This term comes from organ-playing, where it means “bring into play every rank of pipes,” thereby creating the fullest possible sound. It has been used figuratively since about 1860.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He pulled out all the stops in Wisconsin, spending tens of millions of dollars in a pivotal state Supreme Court race, and lost by ten points, a much bigger loss than expected.

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F1 had pulled out all the stops for this event, the first of its kind.

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A shock-the-world result isn’t out of the question, but watch for Sean McVay to pull out all the stops with trick plays, and maybe some different, riskier stuff on fourth down and even special teams.

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De La Salle pulled out all the stops to make it competitive Saturday, even inviting back legendary coach Bob Ladouceur — the architect of the Spartans’ streak — to stand on the sideline for Saturday’s game.

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Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, Alex Cole-Hamilton, said the SNP "would have to pull out all the stops" to persuade his party to support the budget.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

pull out pull out of a hat

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