nowhere to be found

nowhere to be found — idiom

1. missing and not able to be located, no matter how hard people look for it.

1.idiomB2
Definition

missing and not able to be located, no matter how hard people look for it.

Example

When the bell rang, Imani's homework was nowhere to be found in her bag.

subject + be + nowhere to be found

The front door keys were nowhere to be found, so the family waited outside.

inanimate subject in passive-like state

Synonyms
  • missing

    plainer and more general; can describe anything absent

  • lost

    focuses on the thing no longer in its place, not on the search

Antonyms
  • right here

    informal, signals the thing is easily present

Grammar Patterns

[subject] + be + nowhere to be found

Usage Note

Subject is the thing or person that has gone missing, not the person searching. Almost always follows 'be' (was/were/is/are nowhere to be found).

Common Mistakes

I am nowhere to find my phone.
My phone is nowhere to be found.
the missing thing is the subject, and the phrase uses the passive 'to be found'.

Etymology

English

This phrase puts together 'nowhere' (in no place) with the older pattern 'to be found', which simply means 'able to be discovered'. Together they describe something that cannot be located in any place at all. The structure has been common in English for centuries as a fixed way of saying a thing or person has gone missing.