cover all the bases

cover all the bases

To account for or provide a way to address every possible outcome, scenario, contingency, etc. We need to cover all the bases here—the investigation should explore every avenue. I covered all the bases by applying to 15 colleges.
See also: all, bases, cover
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

cover all the/your ˈbases

(especially American English) consider and deal with all the things that could happen or could be needed when you are arranging something: Are you sure we covered all our bases on this? We cover all the bases from creating a market for your business through closing the sale.
See also: all, bases, cover
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • account
  • (Someone or something) called, they want their (something) back!
  • tomorrow
  • a bad apple spoils the (whole) barrel
  • a rotten apple spoils the (whole) barrel
  • a rotten apple spoils the (whole) bunch
  • a rotten apple spoils the (whole) bushel
  • bushel
  • one rotten apple spoils the (whole) barrel
  • one rotten apple spoils the (whole) bushel
References in periodicals archive
SCOTLAND can't "cover all the bases" to stop damage caused by crashing out of the EU without a deal, the Brexit Secretary warned yesterday.
Just cover all the bases of your parents' fears: health issues, designs-never get tattoos of names of boyfriends or girlfriends or husbands or wives, ok?'-Wiji Lacsamana
I wanted to cover all the bases and, hopefully, do it justice."
Senior Delhi Police officer ' ' As the alert does not give out any details of the attackers or the possible date of the attack, we are trying to cover all the bases.
The legislatio required three agencies of the government, Tourism, Property and Procurement and the Economic Development Authority to collaborate on the initiative to ensure that we cover all the bases that would result in attracting a developer based on the strength of the study," de Jongh said.
According to coach Mickey Arthur, the final selection is yet to be completed as the selectors have to cover all the bases and determine the team that plays based on the conditions faced.
It also has elements of dance music in it which makes us think that she's just trying to cover all the bases on this one.
From art (the gallery of "Crazy LP Covers," posted December 5, 2002) to technology ("$140 Walking Robot," July 30, 2002), from foreign affairs to domestic ("Get your rolls of anti-United Nations toilet paper here," February 20, 2001), the links on this site cover all the bases.
Gryphon House helps early childhood educators cover all the bases with a comprehensive series of curriculum guides.
Even those with the broadest coverage and largest market share, such as Concord Communications, can't cover all the bases, and in attempting to do so may fall down when it comes to integrating and correlating the information delivered.
On however small a scale, the Council does cover all the bases. As Sauvageau argues, "the interaction of these three levels has always been the crux of the Council's collaborative role in the film community.
By doing this, she'd "cover all the bases," so to speak, thus ensuring that both aspects of this opportunity have been subjected to the company's normal policy and procedures.
Despite the social history subtitle, later chapters on work and women seem more justified by the attempt to cover all the bases than by the relevant material they marshal, and Lancaster is far more interesting and innovative when he writes about businessmen and their competitors.
From ensuring adequate ventilation of daily HVAC systems to taking special precautions in areas undergoing renovation, the OSHA rules will cover all the bases. Property managers should study and follow the proposed rules if they want to be state-of-the-art on IAQ.
Gilmore, systems sales manager, believe custom molders today are willing to pay for equipment that allows them to "cover all the bases" in controlling their processes.