Meaning & use
set in stone
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiomfigurative
Fixed and final, so that it cannot easily be changed.
Grammar: Often negative or in questions: nothing is set in stone.
Patterns
- be set in stone
- not set in stone
The schedule is not set in stone, so we can adjust it.
Once the contract is signed, the terms are set in stone.
Nothing is set in stone until the board votes.
phrasebefore a nouninformal
Used before a noun when a rule or belief is treated as unchangeable.
Grammar: Often hyphenated before a noun: set-in-stone rules.
Patterns
- set-in-stone rules
They follow set-in-stone traditions at the festival.
His set-in-stone views made debate pointless.
Common combinations
- not set in stone
- The date is not set in stone, so tell me if it clashes.
- plans set in stone
- Our plans are never set in stone.
- rules set in stone
- The rules are not set in stone and may change.
- carved in stone
- The design is not carved in stone yet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fixed
- Fixed is plain and neutral, while set in stone adds a strong feeling of permanence.
- final
- Final says nothing more will follow, but set in stone stresses that it cannot be altered.
- unalterable
- Unalterable is formal and literal, whereas set in stone is a vivid everyday idiom.
- binding
- Binding suggests legal or moral obligation, and set in stone is about being unchangeable in general.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: set in stone or cast in stone?
set in stone vs cast in stone
Cast in stone is a variant but is less common, and some speakers feel set in stone is the standard form.
Practice
Don't worry about the meeting time; it's not ___, so we can move it.
Choose one answer.
Not set in stone means can still be changed. The other phrases have different meanings and do not complete the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “set in stone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.