pull out all stops

UK/ˈpʊl‿aʊt‿ɔːl ˈstɒps/US/ˈpʊl‿aʊt‿ɔl ˈstɑps/US, cot caught merger/-ɑl-/

A form of pull out all the stops — To hold back or reserve nothing.

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Meanings

verbpull out all stops (third-person singular simple present pulls out all stops, present participle pulling out all stops, simple past and past participle pulled out all stops)

present singular third person pulls out all stops · participle present pulling out all stops · participle past pulled out all stops · past pulled out all stops

  1. alternativeAlternative form of pull out all the stops.

    It is curious that in the very same week as the country is pulling out all stops to celebrate one of its most cherished symbols to freedom and opportunity, it has at the same time further plugged up basic human rights of privacy for those who do not define themselves as heterosexual.

    1986 August 23, Warren Blumenfeld, “Community Voices: Liberty’s Dimmed Lamp”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 6, Boston, Mass.: The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4, column 2

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with pull out all stops

topscopspopschopsmopscopsefopsslopspull out all the stops
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

pull out all stops. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20out%20all%20stops

MLA

“pull out all stops.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20out%20all%20stops. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull out all stops,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20out%20all%20stops.

Source: pull out all stops on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.