Word.ws English Dictionary

it takes all kinds to make a world

it takes all kinds to make a world proverb: diversity is essential: the world would be incomplete if everyone were alike; an expression of surprise at a person or people's eccentricity.

Proverb

it takes all kinds to make a world

  1. (idiomatic) Diversity is essential: the world would be incomplete if everyone were alike; an expression of surprise at a person or people's eccentricity.
    • He irons his clothes how?! That's crazy! Well, I guess it takes all kinds to make a world.

Forms of it takes all kinds to make a world

alternative formit takes all kinds
alternative formit takes all sorts
alternative formit takes all sorts to make a world
alternative formit takes all types
alternative formit takes all types to make a world

Origin of it takes all kinds to make a world

Calque of Spanish de todos ha de haber en el mundo (“There must be of all [types] in the world”), Miguel de Cervantes, El ingenioso caballero Don Quijote de la Mancha, Capítulo VI, 1615 (Don Quixote, Volume 2, Chapter VI); translated 1620, Shelton, as "In the world there must surely be of all sorts." and appeared in various forms thereafter.

Questions about it takes all kinds to make a world

What does it takes all kinds to make a world mean?
It takes all kinds to make a world means diversity is essential: the world would be incomplete if everyone were alike; an expression of surprise at a person or people's eccentricity.
What part of speech is it takes all kinds to make a world?
It takes all kinds to make a world is a proverb.

Words near it takes all kinds to make a world in the dictionary

  1. it takes a heap of living to make a house a home
  2. it takes a lot of living to make a house a home
  3. it takes a village
  4. it takes a village to raise a child
  5. it takes all kinds
  6. it takes all kinds to make a world
  7. it takes all sorts
  8. it takes all sorts to make a world
  9. it takes one to know one
  10. it takes two to make a quarrel
  11. it takes two to quarrel

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: it takes all kinds to make a world (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-it takes all kinds to make a world.ogg.

Cite this entry: “it takes all kinds to make a world.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/it_takes_all_kinds_to_make_a_world. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.