all fours

plural noun

1
a
: all four legs of a quadruped
b
: the two legs and two arms of a person when used to support the body
down on all fours
After a few tense moments, she dropped to all foursCarl Hiassen
2
singular in construction : any of various card games in which points are scored for the high trump, low trump, jack of trumps, and game

Word History

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of all fours was in 1678

Dictionary Entries Near all fours

Cite this Entry

“All fours.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all%20fours. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

all fours

noun plural
: all four legs of a four-legged animal or the two legs and two arms of a person
got down on all fours

More from Merriam-Webster on all fours

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!


Which Came First?

  • baby chick with a brown egg
  • hot take or cold shoulder?
Spell It

Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY