How to Use be-all and end-all in a Sentence

be-all and end-all

noun
  • Don’t let one path be your be-all and end-all.
    Ashton Jackson, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Check out our be-all and end-all list of 2019's back-to-school sales.
    Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 15 Aug. 2019
  • The point is that calories aren’t the be-all and end-all of nutrition.
    Kimberly Truong, SELF, 29 Jan. 2019
  • But professionals agree that the quality of your voice is not the be-all and end-all.
    Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2021
  • But for David, meeting Ina Garten, his culinary hero, was his be-all and end-all.
    Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 7 May 2018
  • Love is framed as the be-all and end-all of human existence in books, films, TV shows and songs.
    Serena Smith, refinery29.com, 14 Dec. 2021
  • Having several short conversations, rather than one be-all and end-all, is a good idea, too.
    Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2021
  • In recent decades, the skiwear industry has preached that high-tech synthetics are the be-all and end-all.
    Todd Plummer, WSJ, 4 Feb. 2020
  • The big man was still the be-all and end-all in the NBA then, both for offense around the rim and defense of it.
    Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, 16 July 2017
  • While DSLRs used to be the be-all and end-all of quality footage, that is no longer the case.
    Gabrielle Hondorp, Popular Mechanics, 25 June 2020
  • If being a faithful simulation is the be-all and end-all of it, then how do consumer games compare to the real thing?
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 9 Aug. 2018
  • But at the same time, prices and efficiency shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of governmental policy.
    Isaac Chotiner, Slate Magazine, 5 Oct. 2017
  • American multiplexes are no longer the be-all and end-all for Hollywood.
    Daniel Arkin /, NBC News, 30 Apr. 2018
  • The label was the be-all and end-all of the artist’s career, deciding everything from marketing budgets to video sets and tour dates.
    Tony M Fountain, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2021
  • These research areas are not the be-all and end-all of a rejuvenated Alzheimer's science agenda.
    Kenneth S. Kosik, Scientific American, 20 Apr. 2020
  • Its hopes, as advertised, are to be the be-all and end-all for mid-sized, high-budget concert experiences in Denver.
    Dylan Owens, The Know, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Obviously, Broadway is not the be-all and end-all of American theater.
    New York Times, 5 July 2019
  • Representation politics isn’t the be-all and end-all of liberation.
    Nabilla Doma, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Feb. 2021
  • Artificial intelligence has long been touted as the be-all and end-all to solving problems in business and the global economy.
    Kevin Collins, Forbes, 7 Apr. 2021
  • Because according to Byrdie, this concealer is Pinterest's most popular be-all and end-all.
    Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Strange that this needs to be said in 2019, but the standard playwright-director formula of regional theater isn’t the be-all and end-all.
    Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2019
  • Westeros fans should rest assured that House of the Dragon is not necessarily the be-all and end-all of Game of Thrones spin-offs.
    Christian Holub, EW.com, 1 Dec. 2021
  • That model was built around the preconception that the be-all and end-all of great service was eventually connecting with a friendly human professional.
    Vivek Ahuja, Forbes, 7 July 2021
  • However, Mourinho changed his mind just months later, citing signing a central defender as the be-all and end-all of United's problems.
    SI.com, 5 Sep. 2019
  • If England win their round of 16 match against Cameroon on Sunday afternoon, the next match becomes everything, the most important, the be-all and end-all.
    SI.com, 23 June 2019
  • Though the actress has long been the be-all and end-all fitness inspiration for women across the globe, Berry no longer wants her lifestyle to be deemed unobtainable for the average, everyday woman.
    Bianca Betancourt, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Mar. 2021
  • In some cases, the perimeter is still in place (think local firewalls), but because cloud-native apps are designed to run anywhere on any server — and be highly connected — perimeter security is no longer the be-all and end-all.
    Bill Mann, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2021
  • Without wading too deep into the mathematical weeds, what this generally means is that comparing percentages of patients who die with one therapy versus another treatment course isn’t the be-all and end-all of a treatment’s effectiveness.
    Sy Mukherjee, Fortune, 10 July 2020
  • For some voters, particularly in the South, Albright pointed out, the reality is the Democratic primary is the be-all and end-all for a lot of races, especially at the local level, where Republicans are expected to win in the end.
    Natalie Gontcharova, refinery29.com, 22 June 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'be-all and end-all.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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