a needle in a haystack

noun phrase

informal

: someone or something that is very hard to find

Searching for your earring at the park will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Examples of a needle in a haystack in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And so we’re hurled into the wilderness on this crazy mission to find this kidnapped young woman, a needle in a haystack. —

Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 11 Sep. 2024 Mapping potential vulnerabilities across any complex landscape is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. —

Sajal Singh, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024 There are plenty of baseball, basketball, and football comedies, but finding a hockey comedy is akin to finding a needle in a haystack: there just aren’t many of them. —

Will Harris, EW.com, 10 Aug. 2024 Discovering a female Wood’s cycad, however, is like finding a needle in a haystack. —

Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for a needle in a haystack

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'a needle in a haystack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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“A needle in a haystack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20needle%20in%20a%20haystack. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

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