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
Its long-standing competitor, the Old Farmer’s Almanac, is also all-in on snow and cold across much of the U.S. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023 Instead, Chargers owner Dean Spanos kept both as the team took a more all-in approach in restructuring contracts to retain most of the roster and then signing quarterback Justin Herbert to a record extension. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023 But Apple’s concerns about its image have reportedly kept it from going all-in, cautiously prodding at actually turning its products into diagnostics tools. Wes Davis, The Verge, 1 Nov. 2023 None of that would have been possible, adds the production designer, without an all-in effort from Hungary’s below-the-line talents. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023 The Live Nation spokesperson said all-in pricing had already been instituted for all new events listed for sale at venues Live Nation owns and operates as of Sept. 25. Noah Pransky, NBC News, 25 Oct. 2023 On her latest project, Zahm is going all-in on diaristic songwriting. Stephen Daw, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2023 The notion of going all-in to achieve success has become deeply ingrained, transcending generational boundaries. Jean Gomes, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2023 Eyes on 2024: DeSantis goes all-in on Iowa Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign is making its first major ad buy in Iowa, signaling that DeSantis views the Hawkeye State as crucial to his presidential bid, NBC’s Dasha Burns reports. Mark Murray, NBC News, 12 Oct. 2023 See More

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 2 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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