1
: an embroidered, printed, or lace fabric with a design covering most of the surface
2
: a pattern or design in which a single unit is repeated so as to cover an entire surface
1
: over the whole extent
decorated all over with a flower pattern
2
: everywhere
looked all over for the book
3
: in every respect : thoroughly
she is her mother all over
1
informal
: in eagerly affectionate, attentive, or aggressive pursuit of (someone or something)
the band's fans were all over them
2
informal
: very critical of (someone) in usually an angry or unreasonable way
the press was all over the coach after the loss
Synonyms
Examples of allover in a Sentence
Adjective
a rug with an allover pattern
Adverb
I've looked all over—even outside—and I can't find my other shoe.
his writing style is his mentor's all over
Recent Examples on the Web
Halie Lesavage, Harper's BAZAAR, 22 June 2023
The teen wore a gown by Lebanese designer Shady Zeineldine, which featured allover gold sequins and a turtleneck style.
—Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2023
The Bear, Abby Elliott opted for a brilliant color to accent her bump on the carpet, wearing a Pamella Roland gown crafted in allover sequins in a rich orange topaz.
—Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2023
Its door has a high-arched frame and a decorative allover circular pattern made from plastic.
—Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 7 Sep. 2022
Take, for example, the resurgence of the allover pattern room.
—Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 25 May 2022
On luggage, the Trefoil was joined by the Gucci logo spelled backwards, while the horsebit crossbody and tote were decked out in an allover trefoil print.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 10 May 2022
The 11 pictures at Hemphill Artworks, unexhibited for many years, shift from allover compositions to ones in which the watery colors are stacked horizontally, although still lushly blended.
—Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2022
His paintings often capture a particular gray, allover light, in which the sun struggles (and fails) to make it through the clouds and the horizon is lost in a confusion of haze.
—Washington Post, 16 July 2021
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 28 July 2023
The idea behind using allover pattern is simple: The less information there is for the eye to read, the less work the mind has to do.
—Sophie Donelson, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
The color can be worn—as the model does here—in an allover look, like a dress or a suit.
—Madeline Dangmann, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2023
If your sunburn is less of an allover situation and more of a spot-treatment job, dab concealer onto only the reddest parts of your face.
—Amber Rambharose, Glamour, 26 May 2021
White chenille fabric stripes run along this cotton comforter, which comes in a crisp allover white or soft grey.
—Ellen McAlpine, Good Housekeeping, 22 Dec. 2022
First coined by House Beautiful in 2019, Grandmillennial is a term used to describe a young design lover passionate about revisiting old-school classics, like chintz, trellis, wicker, chinoiserie, allover pattern, and trellis, all seen in this room by Amy Berry.
—Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 14 Oct. 2022
Nicole Kidman For her high-fashion date night with husband Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman wears a custom Giorgio Armani Privé allover sequin gown with oversized rosettes on the shoulder and hip, a mega slit, plus Harry Winston jewels and Omega watch.
—Alex Apatoff, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2023
The allover tone in a glossy application gave the space more dimension.
—Joanna Saltz, House Beautiful, 26 Jan. 2023
Kaitlyn Schallhorn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023
In the decades after his death, his book would become a sensation, with commemorative monuments popping up all over the world.
—Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
The number-goes-up culture of crypto boosterism found its mark all over the world.
—WIRED, 29 Sep. 2023
Makeup artist Etienne Ortega, who frequently works with Aguilera, applied the shimmery and springy shade all over her lids and under her lower lashlines, adding a hint of crystalline white to her inner corners for extra brightness.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 29 Sep. 2023
But that hasn’t dissuaded some people in the Middle East and North Africa from doing to rivers what others all over the globe have done to theirs: despoil and deplete them.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
One fostered a broad if fragmented network of readers all over the United States.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
But the Reagan aura only served to show how much the current-day Republican Party is stomping all over his legacy.
—Linda Feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2023
Although Bryant Park and, since 2010, Lincoln Center have become fashion landmarks, studios all over the island also serve as key destinations for revealing what’s hot and what’s out for the coming seasons.
—Danielle Wright, Essence, 14 Sep. 2023
Bynadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 4 Mar. 2023
The carbon emissions from that fuel get captured, sent back to Texas, and start the process all over again.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2023
About the only thing the Biden Administration and Congress could do right now is just declare immigration bankruptcy and start all over again, and have amnesty, but there isn’t the political will for that right now, unfortunately.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2023
The Mexico City stop kicked off a promotional tour that has taken Jordan all over the world.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
Her mother [Sharon Adams] bought [English-language learning software], and my daughter taught herself, with her mother’s help, to speak all over again.
—Justin Baldoni, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2023
Weather forecasters say March may come in like a lion, bringing misery all over again to a state that recently had hundreds of thousands sitting in darkness.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2023
Later, her work as a documentarian took her all over the world, with her children often tagging along.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
Wearing the feathers has taken you all over country, and others have portrayed the chief during their events in Mobile.
—al, 19 Feb. 2023
See More
Adjective
Dip a toe under the sea with the twinkly embellishments on SimonMiller's beachy collection for Mango, or dive all the way in with Marysia's allover shell print.
—Halie Lesavage, Harper's BAZAAR, 22 June 2023
The teen wore a gown by Lebanese designer Shady Zeineldine, which featured allover gold sequins and a turtleneck style.
—Jessica Booth, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2023
The Bear, Abby Elliott opted for a brilliant color to accent her bump on the carpet, wearing a Pamella Roland gown crafted in allover sequins in a rich orange topaz.
—Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2023
Its door has a high-arched frame and a decorative allover circular pattern made from plastic.
—Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 7 Sep. 2022
Take, for example, the resurgence of the allover pattern room.
—Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 25 May 2022
On luggage, the Trefoil was joined by the Gucci logo spelled backwards, while the horsebit crossbody and tote were decked out in an allover trefoil print.
—Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 10 May 2022
The 11 pictures at Hemphill Artworks, unexhibited for many years, shift from allover compositions to ones in which the watery colors are stacked horizontally, although still lushly blended.
—Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2022
His paintings often capture a particular gray, allover light, in which the sun struggles (and fails) to make it through the clouds and the horizon is lost in a confusion of haze.
—Washington Post, 16 July 2021
Noun
Where Mehring’s allover paintings appear physically impenetrable, this one seems to beckon the viewer to enter.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 28 July 2023
The idea behind using allover pattern is simple: The less information there is for the eye to read, the less work the mind has to do.
—Sophie Donelson, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2023
The color can be worn—as the model does here—in an allover look, like a dress or a suit.
—Madeline Dangmann, Glamour, 2 Aug. 2023
If your sunburn is less of an allover situation and more of a spot-treatment job, dab concealer onto only the reddest parts of your face.
—Amber Rambharose, Glamour, 26 May 2021
White chenille fabric stripes run along this cotton comforter, which comes in a crisp allover white or soft grey.
—Ellen McAlpine, Good Housekeeping, 22 Dec. 2022
First coined by House Beautiful in 2019, Grandmillennial is a term used to describe a young design lover passionate about revisiting old-school classics, like chintz, trellis, wicker, chinoiserie, allover pattern, and trellis, all seen in this room by Amy Berry.
—Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, 14 Oct. 2022
Nicole Kidman For her high-fashion date night with husband Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman wears a custom Giorgio Armani Privé allover sequin gown with oversized rosettes on the shoulder and hip, a mega slit, plus Harry Winston jewels and Omega watch.
—Alex Apatoff, Peoplemag, 12 Mar. 2023
The allover tone in a glossy application gave the space more dimension.
—Joanna Saltz, House Beautiful, 26 Jan. 2023
Adverb
School districts all over the state, including in Southern California, have been enacting what’s dubbed a parental notification policy, which requires parents to be notified if their child may identify as transgender.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2023
In the decades after his death, his book would become a sensation, with commemorative monuments popping up all over the world.
—Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
The number-goes-up culture of crypto boosterism found its mark all over the world.
—WIRED, 29 Sep. 2023
Makeup artist Etienne Ortega, who frequently works with Aguilera, applied the shimmery and springy shade all over her lids and under her lower lashlines, adding a hint of crystalline white to her inner corners for extra brightness.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 29 Sep. 2023
But that hasn’t dissuaded some people in the Middle East and North Africa from doing to rivers what others all over the globe have done to theirs: despoil and deplete them.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
One fostered a broad if fragmented network of readers all over the United States.
—Manuel Betancourt, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
But the Reagan aura only served to show how much the current-day Republican Party is stomping all over his legacy.
—Linda Feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2023
Although Bryant Park and, since 2010, Lincoln Center have become fashion landmarks, studios all over the island also serve as key destinations for revealing what’s hot and what’s out for the coming seasons.
—Danielle Wright, Essence, 14 Sep. 2023
Preposition
Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the families of students who were killed in the shooting, criticized the ruling and the law behind it, saying his clients feel victimized all over again.
—Bynadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 4 Mar. 2023
The carbon emissions from that fuel get captured, sent back to Texas, and start the process all over again.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2023
About the only thing the Biden Administration and Congress could do right now is just declare immigration bankruptcy and start all over again, and have amnesty, but there isn’t the political will for that right now, unfortunately.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2023
The Mexico City stop kicked off a promotional tour that has taken Jordan all over the world.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 1 Mar. 2023
Her mother [Sharon Adams] bought [English-language learning software], and my daughter taught herself, with her mother’s help, to speak all over again.
—Justin Baldoni, WSJ, 1 Mar. 2023
Weather forecasters say March may come in like a lion, bringing misery all over again to a state that recently had hundreds of thousands sitting in darkness.
—Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2023
Later, her work as a documentarian took her all over the world, with her children often tagging along.
—WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
Wearing the feathers has taken you all over country, and others have portrayed the chief during their events in Mobile.
—al, 19 Feb. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'allover.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near allover
Cite this Entry
“Allover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allover. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
allover
1 of 3 adjective
all·over
ˈȯ-ˌlō-vər
: covering the whole surface of something
a sweater with an allover pattern
all over
2 of 3 adverball over
3 of 3 preposition1
: in very affectionate, attentive, or aggressive pursuit of
the band's fans were all over them
2
: in or into a state marked by all-out criticism of
reporters were all over the coach after the loss
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