This French expression may sound technical at first, but it’s actually a common idiom used in a wide range of everyday situations.
Why do I need to know tous azimuts?
This French expression is good to use when something feels slightly chaotic.
What does it mean?
The expression tous azimuts, roughly pronounced too zah-zee-moot (listen here), means “in every direction”, “on all fronts” or “all over the place” depending on the context. It describes an action that spreads in many directions at once, without being limited to a single target or area.
The expression is neutral. It simply conveys the idea of acting or happening in every direction or on multiple fronts. Whether that’s seen as positive or negative (scattered, overwhelming) depends entirely on the surrounding context.
The word azimut comes from the Arabic as-samt, meaning “the path” or “the direction.” It entered French through the Spanish word acimut.
Originally, the expression tous les azimuts simply meant “in all directions.” It was later adopted by the military, particularly in artillery, where it referred to rotating gun platforms capable of firing in any direction.
From then on, the expression entered everyday French – losing its ‘les‘ along the way – and is now used figuratively to describe something happening on all fronts, from every direction, or without a single point of focus.
Use it like this
Le gouvernement lance des réformes tous azimuts. – The government is introducing reforms on all fronts.
Il postule tous azimuts. – He’s applying for jobs left, right and centre.
La publicité est diffusée tous azimuts. – The advertising campaign is being rolled out across the board.
Examples in the press
Les États-Unis relancent la guerre commerciale tous azimuts avec le Canada. (Le Figaro) – The United States is reigniting an all-out trade war with Canada.
Solidarité : tous azimuts contre les flammes (TFI) – Solidarity: Fighting the flames on all fronts
Médicaments, dentistes, taxis : le gouvernement veut baisser tous azimuts les taux de remboursement de la Sécurité sociale (Les Echos) – Medication, dentists, taxis: the government wants to cut Social Security reimbursement rates across the board