Meaning
To use every available resource, method, and ounce of effort to achieve something, holding nothing back.
It’s usually said approvingly, about an impressive, maximal effort put into an event, project, or performance.
Origin
The phrase comes from the pipe organ, whose “stops” are the levers or knobs a player pulls to open different sets of pipes, controlling which sounds are available. With every stop pulled out, all the organ’s pipes can sound at once, producing its fullest, loudest possible volume — nothing held in reserve. The literal organ-playing sense is old, but the figurative use for maximum effort in any endeavor is documented in English from the mid-nineteenth century, extending the image of an organist holding nothing back to any situation where someone commits every available resource rather than a partial effort.
Examples
The team pulled out all the stops for the product launch event.
For her fiftieth birthday, they really pulled out all the stops with the decorations.
We need to pull out all the stops if we want to win this contract.
A: How was the wedding? B: Incredible, they pulled out all the stops.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'Pull out all the stops' mean?
To use every available resource, method, and ounce of effort to achieve something, holding nothing back.
It’s usually said approvingly, about an impressive, maximal effort put into an event, project, or performance.