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
The Niners have gone all-in on special teams this offseason. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 Will the Commanders’ new GM Adam Peters go all-in and swap picks with the Bears to land Williams, a D.C. native? Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2024 Champions are all-in, all the time - which comes down to intentional prioritization, and relentless execution. Brent Gleeson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 She was forced to buy meals for the workers, spending about $37 per person a day for the next week and a half — an all-in cost of nearly $26,000. Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024 But, one developer is all-in on the city and just opened its 11th apartment complex, The Commodore. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2024 The band is using all-in pricing, meaning the full cost of the ticket will be shown upfront. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024 Not even the way Washington is all-in with football, which is a half-degree less than the aforementioned quartet. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024 China’s oversize influence Despite China’s vast differences from the North American market—a top-down, all-in government approach to EVs, and a market nearly bereft of full-size pickup trucks and American-size SUVs—China remains a competitive target and template in many ways. IEEE Spectrum, 8 Feb. 2024

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 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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