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Glite Dictionary
to search for a needle in a haystack

to search for a needle in a haystack

6.7
To try to find something that is hidden among many things
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : buscar una aguja en un pajar
  • Locating the missing report was like searching for a needle in a haystack with so many files on the desk.

Examples

  • He described the task of looking for the tiny microchip as searching for a needle in a haystack.

  • Tracking down that rare book in the old library was like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.

  • After hours of looking for the missing file, it felt like I was searching for a needle in a haystack.

  • Finding the right part in this massive warehouse is truly a case of searching for a needle in a haystack.

  • Don't search for a needle in a haystack!

  • It's like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.

  • Finding her lost earring felt like searching for a needle in a haystack among all the clutter in her room.

Synonyms

to seek out
vsto search for a needle in a haystack
122 3.0

Look for and find a person or thing, often with effort

is about extreme hidden difficulty rather than general determined searching
to ferret out
vsto search for a needle in a haystack
  • Informal
13 6.7

To search carefully to find hidden facts or documents

describes difficulty due to being tiny or lost among many things
to look high and low
vsto search for a needle in a haystack
  • Informal
1 3.9

To search everywhere for something that is lost

focuses on extreme difficulty caused by small or hidden target
like finding a hen's hiney
vsto search for a needle in a haystack
  • Informal
9.9

Something that is very hard to find

means the same difficulty but uses a visual searching image

How Difficult

mission impossible
  • Informal
3 7.2
to search for a needle in a haystack
  • Informal
6.7
tough job
29 3.4
challenging
183 4.4
simple
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

search for a needle in a haystack infinitive
searched for a needle in a haystack past
searched for a needle in a haystack past participle
searching for a needle in a haystack present participle
searches for a needle in a haystack third person singular

Morphology

search + for + a + needle + in + a + haystack

The idiom's meaning is directly inferable from the literal image of trying to locate a very small object ('needle') inside a large pile ('haystack') when combined with 'search'. The metaphorical mapping (extreme difficulty due to size/hiddenness) is clear and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely understand it.

Etymology

The phrase search for a needle in a haystack comes from the simple image of a tiny needle lost inside a very large haystack of hay, where it would be almost impossible to find. So, saying this means 'to try to find something that is extremely difficult to locate'.