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move heaven and earth

Idioms  

  1. Exert the utmost effort, as in I'd move heaven and earth to get an apartment here. This hyperbolic expression was first recorded in 1792.

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.

US President Joe Biden vowed to "move heaven and earth" to help Baltimore recover from a deadly bridge collapse that blocked the city's port.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2024

“I’m directing my team, not figuratively but literally, to move heaven and earth to get done as soon as humanly possible.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 17, 2023

We got to move heaven and earth to stop that from happening.

From Salon • May 23, 2023

The Indianapolis Colts would move heaven and earth to deal Matt Ryan, though his hefty contract and poor results probably preclude that from happening.

From Washington Post • Oct. 29, 2022

“People have gone to war over a beautiful woman. Why not move heaven and earth for one?”

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.