move the needle
(Redirected from move the needle on)
English
editEtymology
editFrom the indicator needle of a measuring instrument such as the speedometer.
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file) - IPA(key): /muːv ðə niː.dəl/
Verb
editmove the needle (third-person singular simple present moves the needle, present participle moving the needle, simple past and past participle moved the needle)
- (idiomatic) To change a situation to a noticeable degree.
- Synonym: budge the needle
- 2002 July 28, Janice M. Horowitz, “Hot Stuff”, in Time[1]:
- Think Red Hots are a taste challenge? Or the Atomic Fireball is the ultimate tongue torture? They barely move the needle for confectionery connoisseurs.
- 2012 August 9, Eric Lowitt, “To solve climate change, let's move beyond climate change”, in The Guardian[2]:
- How does a participant in a sector, or an entire sector for that matter, move the needle on climate change?
- 2024 May 4, Alex Hern, Dan Milmo, quoting Sam Altman, “Danger and opportunity for news industry as AI woos it for vital human-written copy”, in The Guardian[5], →ISSN:
- Speaking in January, OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, appeared dismissive of NYT’s relevance to its products. “Any one particular training source, it doesn’t move the needle for us that much,” he said.