carved in stone

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

fixed, permanent, and immutable — not subject to change, revision, or negotiation; the phrase invokes the ancient practice of inscribing laws, treaties, and sacred texts in stone to make them permanent and authoritative, contrasting with writing on more perishable or alterable materials; the phrase is most commonly used in its negative form — nothing is carved in stone — meaning that arrangements, plans, or decisions are still open to modification; in its positive form it describes obligations, principles, or agreements that are treated as absolute and inviolable; the metaphor connects modern social and legal norms to the ancient tradition of lapidary inscription in which the physical permanence of stone embodied the intended permanence of the words cut into it