Meaning & use
getting into the weeds
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Meanings
phraseidiominformal
Spending time and attention on small details of a subject instead of the main point.
Grammar: Used as a continuous phrase after 'be' or a verb like 'keep': we keep getting into the weeds.
Patterns
- get into the weeds
- getting into the weeds on something
- getting into the weeds about something
The meeting was supposed to last twenty minutes, but we spent an hour getting into the weeds of the budget.
I know you care about the wording, but we're getting into the weeds here — can we decide the main plan first?
She kept getting into the weeds about which font to use, so nobody talked about the deadline.
phraseidiominformal
Becoming deeply involved in the complicated, technical parts of a problem.
Grammar: Often followed by 'on' plus the topic: getting into the weeds on tax law.
Patterns
- get into the weeds on something
- getting into the weeds on something
Our engineers are getting into the weeds on the security settings, which is exactly what we need.
He enjoys getting into the weeds on data, so give him the spreadsheet and let him work.
Once you start getting into the weeds on the regulations, you realize how much nobody agrees on.
Common combinations
- get into the weeds
- Try not to get into the weeds before we agree on the goal.
- getting into the weeds on something
- They are getting into the weeds on pricing again.
- deep in the weeds
- By midnight we were deep in the weeds of the report.
- pull someone out of the weeds
- Thanks for pulling me out of the weeds and reminding me of the deadline.
- stay out of the weeds
- For this first draft, stay out of the weeds and just write the main ideas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- getting bogged down
- Emphasizes being slowed or stuck in detail; 'getting into the weeds' can also suggest useful deep involvement.
- getting down to details
- Neutral and often approving, while 'getting into the weeds' usually hints that the detail is a distraction.
- nitpicking
- Strongly disapproving and about small faults, not about exploring a complicated subject.
Opposites
Word family
- weeds noun
- The literal plants; the idiom comes from the image of tall plants you cannot see over.
- weedy adjective
- Full of unwanted plants, or (informal) thin and weak.
Commonly confused: getting into the weeds or in over your head?
getting into the weeds vs in over your head
That means you are in a situation too difficult for you, while 'getting into the weeds' means focusing too much on detail.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'getting into the weeds' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom means spending too much time on small details, so the first sentence fits. The second wrongly treats it as movement toward a place, the third confuses it with literal garden weeds, and the fourth leaves out the preposition 'with' needed for the unrelated meaning 'argue with someone'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “getting into the weeds”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.