All | Mean of all in English Dictionary

/ˈɑːl/

• the whole, entire, total amount, quantity, or extent of
1. He stayed awake all night. [=the whole/entire night]
2. She worked hard all day. [=throughout the entire day]
3. I've been waiting all week to see her.
4. He had to walk all the way home.
5. She works all year round.
6. He'll need all the help he can get.
7. Someone took all the candy.
8. It was one of the greatest victories of all time. [=one of the greatest victories ever]
9. I think about her all the time. [=I think about her constantly]
• every member or part of
1. All my friends were there.
2. a film suitable for all ages
3. They all came late.
4. We all need to work faster.
5. I read all the magazines. = I read them all.
6. All these eggs are ready.
7. “…all men are created equal…” U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776)
8. She thinks all teenagers are alike. = She thinks teenagers are all alike.
9. Not all teenagers are alike. = Teenagers are not all alike.
10. They serve breakfast at all hours. [=at any hour, at any time of day]
11. They were up till/until all hours. [=they were up very late]
12. She has to deal with all kinds/sorts/types of people. [=with people of every kind/sort/type]
• the whole number or sum of
1. It was great to see him again after all these years.

• any whatever
1. His guilt is beyond all doubt. [=he is certainly guilty]
2. She denied all [=any] responsibility for the accident.
• as much as possible of (something)
1. He spoke in all seriousness/innocence. [=he spoke in a completely serious/innocent way]
• having or showing only (some quality, feature, etc.)
1. The students became all attention [=became very attentive] when the teacher came in.
2. He was all smiles with the boss. [=he was smiling constantly when he was with the boss]
3. This drink is too strong: it's all alcohol!
• in spite of (something)
1. For all his confident talk, he is actually very unsure of himself.
2. She still loves him, for all his faults.
• entirely or completely
1. She sat all alone.
2. She has traveled all around the world.
3. This money will be all yours when I die.
4. He got all wet.
5. She had buttons all down the side of her dress.
6. I forgot all about paying the bill.
7. The noise continued all through the night. [=all night long, throughout the night]
8. I'm all in favor of trying again.
9. His criticisms were all out of proportion.
10. These problems have been occurring all too often. [=much too often]
• for each side or player
1. The score is 2 all. [=apiece]
2. The game ended in a 5-all draw.
3. We're tied at 3-all after seven innings.
• in every way
1. It was a good deal all around: we made money and nobody lost out.
• for everyone
1. Let's have drinks all around, bartender.
• not more than
1. She learned to fly a plane when she was all of 16 years old.
2. The team scored all of six points the entire game.
• as much as
1. The prize is now worth all of 10 million dollars.
• over an entire area
1. We looked all over [=everywhere] for you.
• in every part of (something)
1. The flower can be found all over the island in spring and early summer.
2. He's lived all over Texas.
3. In his office there are books piled all over the place. [=everywhere]
4. People came from all over. [=from many places]
• very critical of (someone)
1. She was all over me for being late.
• crowding around, pushing against, or touching (someone) in a very eager or aggressive way
1. The band's fans were all over them.
2. Look at that young couple. They're all over each other! [=they are kissing, touching, etc., very passionately]
3. She tried to score, but the other team's defense was all over her.
• to a high degree
1. I wasn't all that [=very] interested in the story.
2. The movie wasn't all that [=so] bad.
• with everything considered or included
1. All told, it took us three full days to get there.
2. There were seven of us all told.
• the entire number, quantity, or amount
1. All [=everything] that I have is yours.
2. All [=everything] will be explained soon.
3. She told us all about what happened.
4. Her other books were good, but this one is the best of all.
5. All are welcome! [=everyone is welcome]
6. We all enjoyed the movie. = All of us enjoyed the movie.
7. Many people were invited and all came.
8. His stories may be entertaining, but I don't think all (of them) are true.
9. Thanks to all who helped out.
10. All of this money will be yours when I die.
11. Not all of our students go on to college.
12. It was all (that) I could do to keep from laughing! [=I had a hard time trying not to laugh]
13. “Is there anything else to be done?” “No, that's all.”
14. He gave equal attention to one and all. [=to everyone]
15. Come one, come all. [=everyone is invited to come]
• the only thing
1. That's all I can do to help.
2. All I know is that the game was canceled. I don't know why.
• in a general way
1. All in all [=in general, generally, for the most part], I like the way things have gone.
2. We did lose some money, but we got most of it back. So all in all things might have been a lot worse.
• including everything or everyone
1. The cost of the repairs came to about $300 all told. [=in all] [=the total cost of the repairs was about $300]
• and everything else
1. What with the noise outside, the fire and all, we got hardly any sleep.
2. He endured everything, insults and all, without getting angry.
• to do or give as much as you can to achieve something, to support a cause, etc.
1. He gave his all for the cause. = He gave his all to help the cause.
2. You'll never succeed in this business unless you give (it) your all.
• after considering or doing everything
1. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, we'll be glad we did it.
2. The candidates claim to have different views but, when all is said and done, they're very much alike.