run the gamut

Cultural  

1. To cover a whole range: “The students' reactions to the novel ran the gamut from delight to loathing.”

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run the gamut Idioms  

1. Extend over an entire range, as in His music runs the gamut from rock to classical. This expression alludes to the medieval musical scale of Guido d'Arezzo, gamut being a contraction of gamma and ut, the lowest and highest notes respectively. [Mid-1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run the gamut

Monáe’s previous spooky looks have run the gamut from a Jim Carrey-inspired take on the Grinch to an incredibly detailed version of E.T.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The specific actions that led to these disciplinary decisions run the gamut.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

The foods are extreme and run the gamut, from silkworm pupa to a whole goat head.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

They run the gamut from high-level careers in AI strategy to hourly work, in industries including finance, healthcare and manufacturing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026

He had run the gamut of many emotions in the last four years—love, and fright, and repentance, and agonies of shame, and sometimes anger; but he had never touched pity.

From The Vehement Flame by Margaret Wade Campbell Deland

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