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 Grochowski

Examples of all-in in a Sentence

Adjective (1) all-in seven-day tour of Scotland Adjective (2) was all in after an evening of dancing and partying
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Today, artists, venues and sports teams can choose to have primary ticket prices display all-in rates up front. Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 17 July 2024 That leaves just the Pirates and the Tigers as the teams that went all-in (for one night, at least) on high schoolers. Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 15 July 2024 Both brothers were happy to give Joe the green light to go all-in on music. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 11 July 2024 The no-guilt, all-pleasure action flick with switching faces and identities lets Cage go all-in with kooky glory. Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for all-in 

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 27 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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