Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
by any means necessary

by any means necessary

5 7.0
To do whatever is needed to reach a goal, even if the actions are difficult or harmful
  • idiom
translation icon : por cualquier medio necesario
  • Retrieve the Princess by any means necessary.
  • get it by any means necessary

I mean, it's, it's like revolution by any means necessary and we will take up arms and.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It will lead many on the right to believe that Obama must be stopped somehow, by any means necessary.

    Blog text (31)

  • We can handle this by any means necessary.

    Bad Boys for Life (2020)

  • We're keeping it real, and we're gonna get respect by any means necessary!

    Fiction book (1997)

  • And she intended on getting hers by any means necessary.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We were in the business of spreading joy by any means necessary.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • You need to drive out the water profiteers by any means necessary.

    Submergence (2017)

  • I'm guessing if they can get a president in the White House by any means necessary, it will turn the opinion of their religion around.

    Blog text (26)

  • If the end game is winning championships by any means necessary, why wouldn't you want a superteam playing in your backyard?

    Blog text (31)

  • His message was clear: if Carnival participants in Trinidad or the Virgin Islands are not granted the freedom to perform in the way that they require, they would claim their freedom by any means necessary.

    Academic text (2001)

  • I really want this job, and I'll get it by any means necessary.

Synonyms

whatever it takes
vsby any means necessary
101 5.2

Willing to do anything needed to reach a goal, however hard

focuses on using any methods regardless of consequences or difficulty
at all costs
vsby any means necessary
62 3.7

To do whatever is necessary, even if it is risky

highlights freedom to use any methods rather than just accepting sacrifice
at any cost
vsby any means necessary
23 4.1

Willing to do anything to get something, even if it is dangerous or expensive

focuses more on the methods used than on the cost itself
to do what it takes
vsby any means necessary
18 4.8

Take any action needed to reach a goal, even when it is difficult

emphasizes using any methods regardless of harm or risk
by hook or by crook
vsby any means necessary
  • Informal
1 8.1

Using any way to get something done no matter what it takes

focuses on method choice regardless of difficulty or consequences
at any expense
vsby any means necessary
6.0

Do something even if it costs a lot

prioritizes using whatever methods are needed over the amount of sacrifice

How Determined

at all costs
62 3.7
by any means necessary
5 7.0
if need be
11 3.9

Surface Forms

by any means necessary main

Morphology

by + any + means + necessary

Each component ('by' indicating method, 'any' meaning non-specific, 'means' as methods, and 'necessary' as required) composes directly to yield the overall sense of using whatever methods are required; the intensity/pragmatic force is predictable from 'any' + 'necessary'. This composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns for expressing method and necessity, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will very likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

By any means necessary was used in a speech by Malcolm X and gives a clear picture: use every tool or way you have to reach a goal. So it now means 'using whatever methods are needed' to succeed, even if those methods are difficult or risky.