after all

adverb

1

: in spite of considerations or expectations to the contrary : nevertheless

decided to take the train after all

didn't rain after all

2

: in view of all circumstances

… literature which is after all only a special department of reading.

—W. W. Watt

Examples of after all in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So a whole class of college athletes potentially has one more year after all … and this news arrived after some football teams already began fall camp. — Jason Kirk, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

For Batalon, returning to Ned after all these years has been especially meaningful. — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

Large white feathers wafted in the breeze—Paris, after all, drove the 19th-century ostrich feather craze that swept the fashion world. — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Most projects, after all, start small—a municipal equipment contract, a provincial memorandum, a maintenance agreement. — Natalia Cote-Muñoz, Foreign Affairs, 3 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for after all

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol
• gossypol

Kids Definition

after all

adverb

: in spite of what was indicated or expected

decided to go after all

it rained after all