all

adjective

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\ ˈȯl

Definition of all

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a : the whole amount, quantity, or extent of needed all the courage they had sat up all night

b : as much as possible spoke in all seriousness

2 : every member or individual component of all men will go all five children were present

3 : the whole number or sum of all the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles

4 : every all manner of hardship

5 : any whatever beyond all doubt

6 : nothing but : only all work and no play :

a : completely taken up with, given to, or absorbed by became all attention

b : having or seeming to have (some physical feature) in conspicuous excess or prominence all legs

c : paying full attention with all ears

7 dialect : used up : entirely consumed —used especially of food and drink

8 : being more than one person or thing I don't know who all is coming.

all the

: as much of … as : as much of a … as all the home I ever had

all

adverb

Definition of all (Entry 2 of 4)

1a : wholly, quite sat all alone —often used as an intensive all out of proportionall over the yardit wasn't all that funny

b : selected as the best (as at a sport) within an area or organization —used in combination all-league halfback

2 obsolete : only, exclusively

3 archaic : just

4 : so much all the better for it

5 : for each side : apiece the score is two all

all

pronoun

singular or plural in construction

Definition of all (Entry 3 of 4)

1a : the whole number, quantity, or amount : totality all that I have all of us all of the books

b —used in such phrases as for all I know, for all I care, and for all the good it does to indicate a lack of knowledge, interest, or effectiveness

2 : everybody, everything gave equal attention to all that is all

all in all

: on the whole : generally all in all, things might have been worse

and all

: and everything else especially of a kind suggested by a previous context cards to fill out with … numbers and all— Sally Quinn

all

noun

Definition of all (Entry 4 of 4)

: the whole of one's possessions, resources, or energy gave his all for the cause

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Phrases Containing all Learn More About all

Choose the Right Synonym for all

Adjective

whole, entire, total, all mean including everything or everyone without exception. whole implies that nothing has been omitted, ignored, abated, or taken away. read the whole book entire may suggest a state of completeness or perfection to which nothing can be added. the entire population was wiped out total implies that everything has been counted, weighed, measured, or considered. the total number of people present all may equal whole, entire, or total. all proceeds go to charity

Examples of all in a Sentence

Adjective I've been waiting all week to see her. He had to walk all the way home. She works all year round. He'll need all the help he can get. Someone took all the candy. Adverb She has traveled all around the world. This money will be all yours when I die. She had buttons all down the side of her dress. I forgot all about paying the bill. The kids got all excited when they saw Santa Claus. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective One of the performers, Nicole Daniels, recounts a visit from a largely Black and brown all-girls school, during which the students seemed surprised that this historical figure, who was a Sephardic Jew, could look like them. — Ethan Fuirst, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2022 The footage of Vladimir Konstantinov, both of his all-world playing days and compromised present day, is alone worth the view. — Matt Porter, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 This week, Ohtani will be the main attraction of Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities, which will mark the unofficial halfway point of what could wind up being the greatest individual season of the last century, if not of all-time. — Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2021 His all-or-nothing shot turned out to be a giant dud, flying over the green and across a road. — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 27 June 2022 His all-hands call did little to clear up those issues or quell staff fears about content moderation policies, the direction of the company, and if they will be forced to work from Twitter offices. — Scott Nover, Quartz, 16 June 2022 It’s utilitarian, all-business, the opposite of exciting to shop for or talk about over brunch. — Glamour, 30 May 2022 In general, all-metal and metal and plastic combo garden hose nozzles are superior to those made entirely out of plastic. — Rachel Klein, Popular Mechanics, 19 Apr. 2022 High school students in Long Beach began advocating for multi-stall, all-gender restrooms in 2018. — Laura Newberry, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb After all, the to-do list has not grown any shorter. — Ed Silverman, STAT, 12 Aug. 2022 The price of a bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, all with ads, will be $12.99, or $1 lower than the current Disney bundle price. — Alex Sherman, NBC News, 11 Aug. 2022 Fatherhood is not nearly as all-consuming, furthermore, it has not truly been required to be. — Brooklyn White, Essence, 11 Aug. 2022 The effort can involve wardrobe, hair and makeup consultations spread over several days, plus informal coffee chats to build rapport with the photographer—all before the camera clicks for the first time. — Callum Borchers, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022 Picture this: 25-year-old Becky G, the Latin music star who boasts 33 million followers on Instagram alone, arrives at a meeting with the owners of Los Angeles’ all-female soccer club, Angel City FC. — Thania Garcia, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022 The growing pains were evident all throughout last season. — Cale Clinton, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2022 The tiny screen can now be used to send quick replies, start phone calls, access Quick Settings, and pay with Samsung Wallet, all without having to open the phone. — Julian Chokkattu Parker Hall, Wired, 10 Aug. 2022 Since the company generally works with convention centers, they can all be organized similarly. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun While nothing is a cure-all for burnout, the breathwork sessions enable participants to recognize their own stressors, encounter their limiting beliefs and develop new, empowering ones. — Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Air purifiers are not a cure-all for every possible air quality issue. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, 21 June 2022 Edwards championed liberal causes ranging from Medicare-for-all to LGBTQ rights and gun violence prevention while in Congress, eventually landing a leadership role within the Democratic Caucus. — Meagan Flynn, Washington Post, 16 July 2022 Bloys is used to having to compete with Netflix’s big spending on a myriad of content as the streaming giant attempts to be a catch-all for viewers. — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 July 2022 Even now, leaders in Washington are pushing ambitious new spending plans as the cure-all for what ails our country, while too many mayors and governors refuse to address the root causes for why people are fleeing their cities and states. — Andrew Tisch, Forbes, 7 June 2022 Table of Contents Side Table From books and reading glasses, to mugs and tsotchkes, let this minimalist reading table serve as a catch-all for your reading creatures — because the best reading nooks feel lovingly lived in. — Anna Tingley, Variety, 27 Apr. 2022 Many Grammy moments were collaborations of artists who don’t normally perform together, but the phrase gradually came to serve as a catch-all for show highlights. — Paul Grein, Billboard, 30 Mar. 2022 Taken together, the numbers suggest there is no quick cure-all for the political discord in Washington. — Dante Chinni, NBC News, 13 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'all.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of all

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1593, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for all

Adjective

Middle English al, all, alle, going back to Old English eall (West Saxon), all (Anglian), going back to Germanic *alla- (whence also Old Frisian al, alle "the whole of," Old Saxon all, Old High German al, all, Old Norse allr, Gothic alls), probably going back to *al-no- or *ol-no-, derivative of a base *ala-/*ola- seen in compounds (as Old English ælmihtig almighty entry 1, Old Saxon alohwīt "completely white," Old High German alawāri "quite true," Gothic alabrunsts "burnt offering," calque of Greek holokaútōma), of uncertain origin

Note: Both the correct repertoire of comparable forms and a valid Indo-European reconstruction have been subjects of dispute. Perhaps directly comparable to Germanic *ol-no- is Welsh oll, holl "the whole, all" (with h- of secondary origin); the same base might be present in Old Irish uile "all, every," if going back to *ol-i̯o-. (Old Irish oll "great, ample" is probably not related.) Outside of Germanic and Celtic other comparisons have been suggested, as Oscan allo "whole, entire" and Lithuanian aliái (in aliái víenas "all, everyone"). As an Indo-European reconstruction, Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic) proposes *h₂el-nó- for Germanic and *h₂ol-i̯o- for Old Irish uile, though the assumption of ablaut seems arbitrary. Whatever the ultimate origin, an etymon restricted to western (European) Indo-European.