the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year.
the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students.
the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree): with all due respect; with all speed.
every: all kinds; all sorts.
any; any whatever: beyond all doubt.
nothing but; only: The coat is all wool.
dominated by or as if by the conspicuous possession or use of a particular feature: The colt was all legs. They were all ears, listening attentively to everything she said.
Chiefly Pennsylvania German. all gone; consumed; finished: The pie is all.
pronoun
the whole quantity or amount: He ate all of the peanuts. All are gone.
the whole number; every one: all of us.
everything: Is that all you want to say? All is lost.
noun
one's whole interest, energy, or property: to give one's all; to lose one's all.
Often All . the entire universe.
adverb
wholly; entirely; completely: all alone.
only; exclusively: He spent his income all on pleasure.
each; apiece: The score was one all.
Archaic. even; just.
Idioms for all
above all, before everything else; chiefly: Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.
after all, in spite of the circumstances; notwithstanding: He came in time after all.
all at once. once (def. 9).
all but, almost; very nearly: These batteries are all but dead.
all in, Northern and Western U.S.very tired; exhausted: We were all in at the end of the day.
all in all,
everything considered; in general: All in all, her health is greatly improved.
altogether: There were twelve absentees all in all.
everything; everything regarded as important: Painting became his all in all.
all in hand, Printing, Journalism. (of the copy for typesetting a particular article, book, issue, etc.) in the possession of the compositor.
all in the wind, Nautical. too close to the wind.
all out, with all available means or effort: We went all out to win the war.
all over,
finished; done; ended.
everywhere; in every part.
in every respect; typically.
all standing, Nautical.
in such a way and so suddenly that sails or engines are still set to propel a vessel forward: The ship ran aground all standing.
fully clothed: The crew turned in all standing.
fully equipped, as a vessel.
all that, remarkably; entirely; decidedly (used in negative constructions): It's not all that different from your other house.
all the better, more advantageous; so much the better: If the sun shines it will be all the better for our trip.
all there, Informal. mentally competent; sane: Some of his far-fetched ideas made us suspect that he wasn't all there.
all the same. same (def. 9).
all told. told (def. 2).
all up,
Printing, Journalism.(of copy) completely set in type.
Informal.with no vestige of hope remaining: It's all up with George—they've caught him.
and all, together with every other associated or connected attribute, object, or circumstance: What with the snow and all, we may be a little late.
at all,
in the slightest degree: I wasn't surprised at all.
for any reason: Why bother at all?
in any way: Sorry, I meant no offense at all.
be all, Informal. to say, declare, think, or feel (usually used to introduce reported speech or thought): I try to talk to her and she's all, “Get away from me!”
for all (that), in spite of; notwithstanding: For all that, it was a good year.
in all, all included; all together: a hundred guests in all.
once and for all, for the last time; finally: The case was settled once and for all when the appeal was denied.
Origin of all
First recorded before 900; Middle English al, Old English eal(l); cognate with Gothic alls, Old Norse allr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Middle Low German al, Old Saxon, Old High German al(l) (German all ); perhaps from unattested ol-no-, equivalent to Welsh oll and akin to Old Irish uile, from unattested ol-io-;cf. almighty
SYNONYMS FOR all
2 every one of, each of.
14 totally, utterly, fully.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR all ON THESAURUS.COM
usage note for all
Expressions like all the farther and all the higher occur chiefly in informal speech: This is all the farther the bus goes. That's all the higher she can jump. Elsewhere as far as and as high as are generally used: This is as far as the bus goes. That's as high as she can jump. Although some object to the inclusion of of in such phrases as all of the students and all of the contracts and prefer to omit it, the construction is entirely standard. See also already, alright, altogether.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH all
all , awl
Words nearby all
alkyl group, alkyl halide, alkylic, alkyne, alkyne series, all, alla breve, allachesthesia, Allah, Allahabad, Allahu Akbar
the whole quantity or amount of; totality of; every one of a classall the rice; all men are mortal
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural)all of it is nice; all are welcome
(in combination with a noun used as a modifier)an all-ticket match; an all-amateur tournament; an all-night sitting
the greatest possiblein all earnestness
any whateverto lose all hope of recovery; beyond all doubt
above allmost of all; especially
after all See after (def. 11)
all alongall the time
all butalmost; nearlyall but dead
all ofno less or smaller thanshe's all of thirteen years
all over
finished; at an endthe affair is all over between us
over the whole area (of something); everywhere (in, on, etc)all over England
typically; representatively (in the phrase that's me (you, him, us, them,etc) all over)Also (Irish): all out
unduly effusive towards
sportin a dominant position over
See all in
all in all
everything consideredall in all, it was a great success
the object of one's attention or interestyou are my all in all
all thatorthat(usually used with a negative)informal(intensifier)she's not all that intelligent
all the(foll by a comparative adjective or adverb)so much (more or less) than otherwisewe must work all the faster now
all toodefinitely but regrettablyit's all too true
and all
Britishinformalas well; tooand you can take that smile off your face and all
Southern Africana parenthetical filler phrase used at the end of a statement to make a sl ight pause in speaking
and all thatinformal
and similar or associated things; et ceteracoffee, tea, and all that will be served in the garden
used as a filler or to make what precedes more vague: in this sense, it often occurs with concessive forceshe was sweet and pretty and all that, but I still didn't like her
See that (def. 4)
as all thatas one might expect or hopeshe's not as pretty as all that, but she has personality
at all
(used with a negative or in a question)in any way whatsoever or to any extent or degreeI didn't know that at all
even so; anywayI'm surprised you came at all
be all forinformalto be strongly in favour of
be all thatinformal, mainlyUSto be exceptionally good, talented, or attractive
for all
in so far as; to the extent thatfor all anyone knows, he was a baron
notwithstandingfor all my pushing, I still couldn't move it
for all thatin spite of thathe was a nice man for all that
in allaltogetherthere were five of them in all
adverb
(in scores of games) apiece; eachthe score at half time was three all
completelyall alone
be all …informalused for emphasis when introducing direct speech or nonverbal communicationhe was all, 'I'm not doing that'
noun
(preceded by my, your, his, etc) (one's) complete effort or interestto give your all; you are my all
totality or whole
Other words from all
Related prefixes: pan-, panto-
Word Origin for all
Old English eall; related to Old High German al, Old Norse allr, Gothic alls all