if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A limited set of skills leads to overly simplistic solutions
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
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Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a person with only a hammer sees every problem as something to be hit
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” mean?
A limited set of skills leads to overly simplistic solutions Literally: a person with only a hammer sees every problem as something to be hit
Is “if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.