not see the wood for the trees

not see the wood for the trees
not see the wood for the trees
To fail to grasp the whole because of the superabundance of, or one's over-concentration on, detail
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Main Entry:wood

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not see the wood for the trees — see tree
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Main Entry:wood

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not see the ˌwood for the ˈtrees idiom
(BrE) (NAmE not see the ˌforest for the ˈtrees) to not see or understand the main point about sth, because you are paying too much attention to small details
Main entry:woodidiom

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • not see the forest for the trees — see ↑tree • • • Main Entry: ↑forest not see the forest for the trees (US) (or US miss the forest for the trees or Brit not see the wood for the trees) : to not understand or appreciate a larger situation, problem …   Useful english dictionary

  • not see the wood for the trees — See: not see the forest for the trees …   New idioms dictionary

  • not see the forest/wood for the trees — see ↑tree • • • Main Entry: ↑see …   Useful english dictionary

  • can't\ see\ the\ wood\ for\ the\ trees — • can t see the forest for the trees • can t see the wood for the trees • can t see the woods for the trees v. phr. To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • can't\ see\ the\ forest\ for\ the\ trees — • can t see the forest for the trees • can t see the wood for the trees • can t see the woods for the trees v. phr. To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • can't\ see\ the\ woods\ for\ the\ trees — • can t see the forest for the trees • can t see the wood for the trees • can t see the woods for the trees v. phr. To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • can't see the wood for the trees — or[can t see the woods for the trees] or[can t see the forest for the trees] {v. phr.} To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or the aim of the future… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • can't see the wood for the trees — or[can t see the woods for the trees] or[can t see the forest for the trees] {v. phr.} To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or the aim of the future… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • wood — W2S2 [wud] n ↑goggles, ↑saw, ↑wood [: Old English; Origin: wudu] 1.) [U and C] the material that trees are made of →↑wooden, woody ↑woody ▪ Put some more wood on the fire. ▪ …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • someone can't see the wood for the trees — someone can’t see the wood for the trees british informal phrase used for saying that someone cannot understand what is important in a situation because they are thinking too much about small details Thesaurus: not showing careful thought or good …   Useful english dictionary

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