stone's throw away

USAGE SUMMARY

"stone's throw away" is a correct and commonly used phrase in written English.
It means a short distance away, usually within easy walking distance. Example: Our hotel was just a stone's throw away from the beach, making it the perfect location for our vacation.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

54 human-written examples

It's easy to get lost in nature just a stone's throw away from the city.

Huffington Post

"It's obviously tempting to blame her for posing for a photo a stone's throw away from the isolation camps, but people don't think.

Independent

The Tweed Courthouse is a stone's throw away.

The New Yorker

But mother nature is always a stone's throw away.

The New York Times - Travel

A stone's throw away is the No. 2 suspect, Target.

The New York Times

Only a stone's throw away is Tehran's famous Grand Bazaar.

The Guardian - Travel

The bazaar is a mere stone's throw away from the 19th-century All Saints Church.

Independent

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

4 human-written examples

A Burmese outpost is a stone's-throw away, across the paddy-field below, where Burmese labourers are frantically working to build a border fence.

The Economist

A stone's-throw away is a great wooden door, lacquered dark with varnish, a fluted arch above it providing shade.

BBC

The tournament kicks off at Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium, a mere stone's-throw away from the famous Soweto Township.

Huffington Post

Being only a stone's-throw away from the arrival terminal means that patients have only a five-minute drive to the hospital for their care.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Ensure the possessive apostrophe is correctly placed after the 'n' in 'stone's' as the phrase implies the distance of a throw belonging to one stone

Common error

Avoid writing 'stones throw away' without the apostrophe, as it is a possessive idiom. Additionally, do not use the phrase when the distance is actually quite far, as it can confuse the reader unless you are intentionally being ironic.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "stone's throw away" functions primarily as an adverbial idiom of distance. It modifies the verb of a sentence (usually the verb 'to be' or 'to sit') to indicate how close a specific object or location is. In the examples provided by Ludwig, it often acts as a predicate adjective phrase to describe the location of landmarks, buildings, or natural features.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

92%

Travel Writing

5%

Informal & Personal

3%

Less common in

Science

0.5%

Academic Research

1%

Legal & Official

0.5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "stone's throw away" is a robust and evocative English idiom used to describe something that is very close. Ludwig AI data reveals that it is exceptionally popular in high-end journalism and descriptive prose, where it serves to make the writing more engaging and visual. While it is almost always used correctly in professional media, writers should take care to include the possessive apostrophe (stone's) and avoid using it in purely technical or formal contexts where literal measurements are expected. Whether you are describing a hotel's proximity to the beach or a shop's location in a city, this phrase remains a versatile tool for conveying closeness with a touch of character.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

just around the corner

More informal and suggests a very specific physical proximity, often used in urban settings

very close by

A more direct and neutral way to describe proximity without using an idiom

within walking distance

More literal and practical, emphasizing the ease of reaching the location on foot

nearby

A simple one-word adverb that serves as a versatile synonym in any context

a short walk away

Provides a clearer sense of the actual time or effort required to travel

a hop, skip, and a jump away

A more playful and whimsical idiom for a very short distance

in the vicinity

More formal and general, describing the broad area rather than a specific short distance

stone's throw apart

Focuses on the distance between two objects rather than the distance from the speaker

within reach

Implies extreme proximity or accessibility, often used metaphorically

at close range

Often used in military or technical contexts to describe visual or physical proximity

FAQs

How do I use "stone's throw away" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe proximity, for example: "The beach was just a "stone's throw away" from our hotel."

Is it "stones throw" or "stone's throw"?

The correct form is "stone's throw" because the idiom refers to the distance of one stone's throw. Using "stones throw" without an apostrophe is a common grammatical error.

What can I say instead of "stone's throw away"?

You can use alternatives like "just around the corner", "nearby", or "within walking distance" depending on how formal you want to be.

Is "stone's throw away" considered formal English?

It is considered a neutral to informal idiom. While common in high-quality journalism like the The New York Times, it might be better to use a phrase like "in close proximity" in a formal academic paper.