What Does "Miss the Wood for the Trees" Mean?
"Miss the wood for the trees" is an English idiom. It means "a variant of 'miss the forest for the trees', meaning to focus on individual details at the expense of the overall perspective."Examples in Sentences
Here are three examples of the idiom "miss the wood for the trees" used in a sentence:- While you fuss over the minutiae, you're missing the wood for the trees.
- The team was missing the wood for the trees, concentrating too much on one issue.
What Is an Idiom?
An idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. In other words, if you were to translate "Miss the Wood for the Trees" word for word, there is no guarantee the translation would help you to understand the meaning.An idiom often includes a cultural or historical context that makes it difficult for non-native English speakers to understand. A phrase is classified as an idiom when a direct translation of the words does not reveal the meaning. Most idioms rely on shared knowledge or experiences known only to a specific community.
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