get nowhere

Idioms

Also, not get anywhere. Make no progress, as in I've tried to put this together, but I'm getting nowhere with it. This expression is sometimes intensified as get nowhere fast, as in I tried phoning but got nowhere fast. [Early 1900s] Also see get somewhere; get there.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Eventually Mr. Rosolie and his colleagues open up the Las Piedras Biodiversity Station to visitors and take them on multiweek adventures they can get nowhere else.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

As I started writing “Revenge,” the reason that I ended up calling you, Brian, was because I could get nowhere in terms of interviews with people.

From Salon • Nov. 6, 2023

Thinking he would get nowhere without business courses, he was surprised when a recruiter called him for an interview.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

When I get nowhere by email I telephone the town hall, where a member of staff tells me it will not be possible, as this is a "delicate matter".

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2020

And it ain’t got nothing as bad a rep-a-tation as a snake; it don’t get nowhere near the ’mount of talking ’bout in the Bible that snakes do.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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