all-in

1 of 2

adjective (1)

1
chiefly British : all-inclusive
2
chiefly British : being almost without restrictions
all-in wrestling

all in

2 of 2

adjective (2)

variants or less commonly all-in
1
: tired, exhausted
Atticus said as tactfully as he could that he just didn't think he could stand a pageant tonight, he was all in.Harper Lee
Inside, the invalid had gone to bed; her mother said, "She was all in," and expressed pity for her, for the first time.Edna O'Brien
2
: fully committed to or involved in something
The Diamondbacks are all-in for this year. It's why they brought in J. D. Martinez at the trade deadline. They have a healthy mix of young and veteran players, and they're looking to make a run this October.Kevin Skiver
often used in the phrase go all in
With my bonus in tow, I got the far-fetched idea I didn't feel like working that type of pace anymore. So I went all in on real estate on my own.Philip Michael

Note: In poker, to go all in is to bet everything on a hand.

The best my opponent could have at this point was a 5-high straight, so I went all in—my full $220,000 was riding on this hand. The last card was a Jack—and I was out.John Rochowski

Examples of all-in in a Sentence

Adjective (2) was all in after an evening of dancing and partying
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Will the Commanders’ new GM Adam Peters go all-in and swap picks with the Bears to land Williams, a D.C. native? Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024 Champions are all-in, all the time - which comes down to intentional prioritization, and relentless execution. Brent Gleeson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 She was forced to buy meals for the workers, spending about $37 per person a day for the next week and a half — an all-in cost of nearly $26,000. Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024 But, one developer is all-in on the city and just opened its 11th apartment complex, The Commodore. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024 The band is using all-in pricing, meaning the full cost of the ticket will be shown upfront. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024 Not even the way Washington is all-in with football, which is a half-degree less than the aforementioned quartet. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024 China’s oversize influence Despite China’s vast differences from the North American market—a top-down, all-in government approach to EVs, and a market nearly bereft of full-size pickup trucks and American-size SUVs—China remains a competitive target and template in many ways. IEEE Spectrum, 8 Feb. 2024 General Motors In 2020, General Motors went all-in on its Ultium battery platform and battery-electric vehicles to meet future energy and pollution regulations. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'all-in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1890, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of all-in was in 1890

Dictionary Entries Near all-in

Cite this Entry

“All-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all-in. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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