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run the gamut

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run the gamut

to cover a wide range [from one thing to another]. She wants to buy the house, but her requests run the gamut from expensive new carpeting to completely new landscaping. His hobbies run the gamut from piano repair to portrait painting.

See also: run

run the gamut

to include everything within a group or type Our discussions ran the gamut from wealth to war and education to the environment.

Usage notes: often used with from, as in the example

See also: run

run the gamut

Extend over an entire range, as in His music runs the gamut from rock to classical. This expression alludes to the medieval musical scale of Guido d'Arezzo, gamut being a contraction of gamma and ut, the lowest and highest notes respectively. [Mid-1800s]

See also: run