nowhere to be found
34
4.7
- idiom
:
desaparecido
- I searched for my keys everywhere, but they were nowhere to be found.
- name is nowhere to be found
- mother is nowhere to be found
- daughter is nowhere to be found
His son is nowhere to be found and he's trying to go back to them.
- His son is nowhere to be found and he's trying to go back to them.
- And then next month they're nowhere to be found.
- We get to the trailhead right here and Kara is nowhere to be found.
- It's like if she voices a need for reassurance or for anything, he's like just nowhere to be found.
- There must be a Global Glow Recipe algal cleanser shortage because it was nowhere to be found.
- Even when something great has happened or simply just does not is nowhere to be found.
- The day I had Sunday service, my kids are supposed to be there and my kids with nowhere to be found.
- She has her credibility is nowhere to be found.
Examples
-
The operations shack was locked up tight, and Frank was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (1998) -
But the streets were deserted, and Anya was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (1994) -
All I know is it's nowhere to be found.
-
I even looked for it, but it was nowhere to be found.
-
You were a child, and you needed me, and I was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (2000) -
And my letters and my book were nowhere to be found.
Academic text (2007) -
But when I looked for her at midnight, she was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (2001) -
But when they got there, the pumpkin was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (1997) -
Complete accounts of civilian deaths are nowhere to be found, though several organizations have tried.
Academic text (2011) -
Deirdre, they discovered as they prepared to depart, was nowhere to be found.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
809
1.0
Not in the place where you expect to find it
139
1.0
Not present where expected or not existing when needed
81
3.4
Not able to be used, reached, or bought
5
2.8
Not in the right spot when you need it
1
7.1
Very hard to find
1
6.9
Not found even after people tried to find it
1
6.4
Not discovered after searching
Not possible to find or learn where something is
Antonyms
How Available
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'impossible to locate' is directly derivable from combining 'nowhere' (in no place) with 'to be found' (to be discoverable); together they mean 'cannot be found anywhere.' This composition follows ordinary English syntax and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Nowhere to be found paints a simple picture: you search every room and place but the thing is in nowhere and cannot be found. So, it means 'completely missing' or 'impossible to locate'.