every

American  

[ev-ree] / ˈɛv ri /

adjective

1. being one of a group or series taken collectively; each.

   We go there every day.

2. all possible; the greatest possible degree of.

   every prospect of success.

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idioms

1. every bit, in every respect; completely.

   This is every bit as good as she says it is.

2. every which way, in all directions; in disorganized fashion.

   I brushed against the table, and the cards fell every which way.

3. every now and then, on occasion; from time to time: Also every once in a while, every so often.

   She bakes her own bread every now and then.

4. every other, every second; every alternate.

   milk deliveries every other day.

every British  

/ ˈɛvrɪ /

determiner

1. each one (of the class specified), without exception

   every child knows it

2. (not used with a negative) the greatest or best possible

   every hope of success

3. each: used before a noun phrase to indicate the recurrent, intermittent, or serial nature of a thing

   every third day

   every now and then

   every so often

4. (used in comparisons with as) quite; just; equally

   every bit as funny as the other show

5. each alternate; every second

   every other day

6. 1. in all directions; everywhere

      I looked every which way for you

   2. from all sides

      stones coming at me every which way

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every More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing every

• at every turn
• each and every
• finger in the (every) pie
• living soul, every
• nook and cranny, every

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Related Words

See each.

Etymology

Origin of every

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English every, everich, Old English ǣfre ǣlc, literally “ever each” (the first element of the phrase reinforcing the second); see ever ( def. ), each

Explanation

Use the adjective every to talk about all examples of something or all the members of a group. If you invite every classmate to your party, you're asking all 30 of them to come. When you plan a trip to visit every national park in the US, you are intending to travel to 59 different parks — all of them. When you talk about time, you can also use every to explain how often an event occurs: "I've been waking up every hour lately." Every was originally a contraction of æfre ælc, "each of a group" or "ever each" in Old English.

Example Sentences

Every year, I go on a summer trip to a beach town with my friends for about a week.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

Nickerson said, “Verbum Dei helped shape me in so many different ways. Every day I think of something I learned from high school.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

Every $1 the NIH invested generated $2.576 in new economic activity.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

"Energy and effort, that's what I believe wins games. Every single possession, it means a lot. Every single possession means it could be the end of the season."

From BBC • May 4, 2026

Every hour or so I could hear one of them open our door to check that four boys were safe and sound in their bunks before continuing on down the hall.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• all