Meaning & use
a stone's throw away
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
Very close to a place, so that you can get there in a short walk.
Grammar: Used after be or live, usually followed by from and a place: it is a stone's throw from here.
Patterns
- be a stone's throw away from something
- live a stone's throw away
- a stone's throw away from here
The hotel is a stone's throw away from the beach, so we walked there in five minutes.
She lives a stone's throw away from the office and often goes home for lunch.
There is a good bakery a stone's throw away from our new apartment.
phraseidiomfigurative
A very short distance or a very small amount of progress in a difficult task.
Grammar: Often used figuratively after be or come, followed by from: we are a stone's throw away from finishing.
Patterns
- be a stone's throw away from something
- come a stone's throw away from doing something
After months of work, the team is a stone's throw away from a working prototype.
Their first album came a stone's throw away from winning the prize.
Common combinations
- a stone's throw away from the beach
- Their house is a stone's throw away from the beach.
- just a stone's throw away
- The market is just a stone's throw away, so we go there on foot.
- live a stone's throw away
- My parents live a stone's throw away and visit often.
- within a stone's throw
- There are three cafés within a stone's throw of the campus.
- a stone's throw from here
- The station is a stone's throw from here, so you can't miss it.
Synonyms and how they differ
- close by
- A plainer phrase for being near; it does not suggest the small, walkable distance as vividly as the idiom does.
- within walking distance
- Focuses on being near enough to walk; more neutral and a little more formal than the idiom.
- nearby
- Simply means not far away and can stand alone, while the idiom usually needs from plus a place.
Opposites
Commonly confused: a stone's throw away or a stone's throw from?
a stone's throw away vs a stone's throw from
Same idiom with from instead of away from; both are correct, but away from often adds emphasis on the distance you avoid traveling.
Practice
The new library is a stone's throw ___ the school, so children can walk there.
Choose one answer.
The fixed pattern is 'a stone's throw from' (or 'away from') a place. 'Of' sounds natural after 'close' but not in this idiom, and 'with' and 'into' do not fit the distance pattern at all.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a stone's throw away”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.