all right

1 of 2

adjective

1

: satisfactory, agreeable

Whatever you decide is all right with me.

2

: safe, well

He was ill, but he's all right now.

3

informal : good, pleasing

—often used as a generalized term of approval

an all right guy

all right or alright?: Usage Guide

Although the spelling alright dates to the mid-19th century, some still insist alright is all wrong. The objection seems at its core to be based on little more than the form's newness: altogether and already, which formerly were frequently spelled as two words, settled into their current spellings in the 18th century, making alright a relative upstart. All right continues to be much more common than alright in published writing, but alright is increasingly found there too. Some like to distinguish between the forms, reserving all right for meanings such as "entirely correct" and "only those on the right," and alright for the other meanings, but that distinction is not widely employed.

all right

2 of 2

adverb

1

: beyond doubt : certainly

She has pneumonia all right.

2

—used interjectionally especially to express agreement or resignation or to indicate the resumption of a discussion

All right, we can do that if you want.

All right, let's go.

3

: well enough : satisfactorily

He does all right in school.

Synonyms of all right

Adjective

• OK
• fine
• alright
• good

Adverb

• good
• fine
• alright
• nicely
• well
• OK

Examples of all right in a Sentence

Adjective

The quality of his work is all right but not outstanding.

Her first movie was pretty bad but her second one was all right.

Is it all right to leave early?

Is this movie all right for children?

He was very sick but now he's all right again.

“Are you hurt?” “No, I'm all right.”

She was upset when her boyfriend left, but she's all right now.

Adverb

She does all right in school.

The engine was sputtering when I started it, but it's running all right now.

“How's your father?” “He was pretty sick, but he's doing all right now.”

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Usually the artist will feel obligated to give the audience a breather with at least a couple songs that deal with something other than the central rupture, or which flash forward to assure everyone that the singer is doing all right and healing up, thank you, post-split. —Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Oct. 2025

The Castle Rock kid is all right. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025

Some of her research comprises little more than yearbooks’ blooper reels, and that’s all right by me. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

Scherzer stepped on it, all right. —Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for all right

• affright
• airtight
• albite
• alight
• alright
• aplite
• aright
• bainite
• birthright
• bobwhite
• bornite
• bullfight

Video

Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

Kids Definition

all right

1 of 2 adjective

1

: satisfactory, correct

it is all right with me

2

: safe entry 1 sense 1, well

he was sick but he's all right now

all right

2 of 2 adverb

1

: very well : yes

all right, I'll come

—used as an interjection especially to show agreement or acceptance or to show the continuation of a discussion

2

: beyond doubt : certainly

that's the one all right

3

: reasonably well

does all right in school