above

[ uh-buhv ]

/ əˈbʌv /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR above ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

in, at, or to a higher place.

overhead, upstairs, or in the sky: My brother lives in the apartment above. A flock of birds circled above.

higher in rank, authority, or power: She was told to speak to the person above.

higher in quantity or number: books with 100 pages and above.

before or earlier, especially in a book or other piece of writing; foregoing: the remark quoted above.Compare below(def 6).

in or to heaven: gone to her eternal rest above.

Zoology. on the upper or dorsal side.

Theater. upstage.Compare below(def 9).

higher than zero on the temperature scale: The temperature dropped to ten above this morning.

preposition

in or to a higher place than; over: to fly above the clouds; the floor above ours.

more in quantity or number than; in excess of: all girls above 12 years of age; The weight is above a ton.

superior in rank, authority, or standing to: A captain is above a lieutenant.

not subject or liable to; not capable of (some undesirable action, thought, etc.): above suspicion; to be above bad behavior.

of too fine a character for: He is above such trickery.

rather than; in preference to: to favor one child above the other.

beyond, especially north of: six miles above Baltimore.

Theater. upstage of.

adjective

said, mentioned, or written above; foregoing: the above explanation.

noun

something that was said, mentioned, or written above: to refer to the above.

the person or persons previously indicated: The above will all stand trial.

heaven: truly a gift from above.

a higher authority: an order from above.

Nearby words

about time, about to, about turn, about-face, about-ship, above, above all, above and beyond, above board, above stairs, above suspicion

Idioms

above all, most important of all; principally: charity above all.

Origin of above

before 900; Middle English above(n) (Cf. aboon), Old English abufan, onbufan (a-¹, on + bufan above (cognate with Dutch boven), equivalent to b(e) by¹ + ufan, cognate with Old Frisian uva, Old Saxon oban(a), Old High German obana, German oben, Old Norse ofan above; akin to over); see up; cf. about for formation

Usage note

Above as an adjective ( the above data ) or as a noun ( study the above ) referring to what has been mentioned earlier in a piece of writing has long been standard. A few critics object to these uses in general writing, believing that they are more appropriate in business or technical contexts; they occur, however, in all kinds of edited writing.

Definition for above all (2 of 2)

all

[ awl ]

/ ɔl /

adjective

the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year.

the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students.

the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree): with all due respect; with all speed.

every: all kinds; all sorts.

any; any whatever: beyond all doubt.

nothing but; only: The coat is all wool.

dominated by or as if by the conspicuous possession or use of a particular feature: The colt was all legs. They were all ears, listening attentively to everything she said.

Chiefly Pennsylvania German. all gone; consumed; finished: The pie is all.

pronoun

the whole quantity or amount: He ate all of the peanuts. All are gone.

the whole number; every one: all of us.

everything: Is that all you want to say? All is lost.

noun

one's whole interest, energy, or property: to give one's all; to lose one's all.

(often initial capital letter) the entire universe.

adverb

wholly; entirely; completely: all alone.

only; exclusively: He spent his income all on pleasure.

each; apiece: The score was one all.

Archaic. even; just.

Origin of all

before 900; Middle English al, plural alle; Old English eal(l); cognate with Gothic alls, Old Norse allr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Middle Low German al, Old Saxon, Old High German al(l) (German all); if < *ol-no-, equivalent to Welsh oll and akin to Old Irish uile < *ol-io-; cf. almighty

SYNONYMS FOR all

2 every one of, each of.

14 totally, utterly, fully.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR all ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confused

all awl (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

Expressions like all the farther and all the higher occur chiefly in informal speech: This is all the farther the bus goes. That's all the higher she can jump. Elsewhere as far as and as high as are generally used: This is as far as the bus goes. That's as high as she can jump.
Although some object to the inclusion of of in such phrases as all of the students and all of the contracts and prefer to omit it, the construction is entirely standard.
See also already, alright, altogether.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for above all (1 of 2)

above

/ (əˈbʌv) /

preposition

on top of or higher than; overthe sky above the earth

greater than in quantity or degreeabove average in weight

superior to or prior toto place honour above wealth

too honourable or high-minded forabove petty gossiping

too respected for; beyondabove suspicion; above reproach

too difficult to be understood bythe talk was above me

louder or higher than (other noise)I heard her call above the radio

in preference toI love you above all others

north ofwhich town lies just above London?

upstream from

above all most of all; especially

above and beyond in addition to

above oneself presumptuous or conceited

adverb

in or to a higher placethe sky above

in a previous place (in something written)
(in combination)the above-mentioned clause

higher in rank or position

in or concerned with heavenseek the things that are above

noun

the above something that is above or previously mentioned

adjective

mentioned or appearing in a previous place (in something written)

Word Origin for above

Old English abufan, from a- on + bufan above

British Dictionary definitions for above all (2 of 2)

all

/ (ɔːl) /

determiner

the whole quantity or amount of; totality of; every one of a classall the rice; all men are mortal
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural)all of it is nice; all are welcome
(in combination with a noun used as a modifier)an all-ticket match; an all-amateur tournament; an all-night sitting

the greatest possiblein all earnestness

any whateverto lose all hope of recovery; beyond all doubt

above all most of all; especially

after all See after (def. 11)

all along all the time

all but almost; nearlyall but dead

all of no less or smaller thanshe's all of thirteen years

all over

finished; at an endthe affair is all over between us
over the whole area (of something); everywhere (in, on, etc)all over England
typically; representatively (in the phrase that's me (you, him, us, them, etc) all over)Also (Irish): all out
unduly effusive towards
sport in a dominant position over

See all in

all in all

everything consideredall in all, it was a great success
the object of one's attention or interestyou are my all in all

all that or that (usually used with a negative) informal (intensifier)she's not all that intelligent

all the (foll by a comparative adjective or adverb) so much (more or less) than otherwisewe must work all the faster now

all too definitely but regrettablyit's all too true

and all

British informal as well; tooand you can take that smile off your face and all
Southern African a parenthetical filler phrase used at the end of a statement to make a sl ight pause in speaking

and all that informal

and similar or associated things; et ceteracoffee, tea, and all that will be served in the garden
used as a filler or to make what precedes more vague: in this sense, it often occurs with concessive forceshe was sweet and pretty and all that, but I still didn't like her
See that (def. 4)

as all that as one might expect or hopeshe's not as pretty as all that, but she has personality

at all

(used with a negative or in a question) in any way whatsoever or to any extent or degreeI didn't know that at all
even so; anywayI'm surprised you came at all

be all for informal to be strongly in favour of

be all that informal, mainly US to be exceptionally good, talented, or attractive

for all

in so far as; to the extent thatfor all anyone knows, he was a baron
notwithstandingfor all my pushing, I still couldn't move it

for all that in spite of thathe was a nice man for all that

in all altogetherthere were five of them in all

adverb

(in scores of games) apiece; eachthe score at half time was three all

completelyall alone

be all … informal used for emphasis when introducing direct speech or nonverbal communicationhe was all, 'I'm not doing that'

noun

(preceded by my, your, his, etc) (one's) complete effort or interestto give your all; you are my all

totality or whole

Related forms

Related prefixes: pan-, panto-

Word Origin for all

Old English eall; related to Old High German al, Old Norse allr, Gothic alls all

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with above all (1 of 3)

above all

More than anything else, as in A winter hike calls for good equipment, but above all it requires careful planning. This phrase first appears in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377), in which the narrator exhorts readers to love the Lord God above all. Also see first and last.

Idioms and Phrases with above all (2 of 3)

above

In addition to the idioms beginning with above

above all
above and beyond
above suspicion
above the law

also see:

all (none) of the above
cut above
head and shoulders above
over and above

Idioms and Phrases with above all (3 of 3)

all

In addition to the idioms beginning with all

all along
all along the line
all and sundry
all at once
all at sea
all better
all but
all cylinders
all ears
all else being equal
alley cat
all eyes
all for
all for the best
all gone
all hours
all in a day's work
all in all
all in, be
all in good time
all in one piece
all joking aside
all kinds of
all of
all of a sudden
all of the above
all one
all out
all outdoors, big as
all over
all over but the shouting
all over one
all over the place
all over with
all present and accounted for
all right
all right for you
all right with one
all roads lead to Rome
all set
all sewed up
all shook up
all sorts
all systems go
all talk (and no action)
all that
all that glitters is not gold
all the
all the best
all the better
all the rage
all there
all the same
all the thing
all the time
all the way
all the worse
all things to all people, be
all thumbs
all told
all to the good
all up
all very well
all well and good
all wet
all wool and a yard wide
all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)
all year round

also see:

above all
after all
against all odds
as all getout
at all
at all costs
be-all and end-all
beat all
by all accounts
by all means
by all odds
cap it all
fall all over
firing on all cylinders
first of all
for all
for all I care
for all I know
for all one's worth
for all that
get away (from it all)
get one's act (it all) together
go all the way
have all one's buttons
have it all over someone
have it both ways (all)
hit on all cylinders
hold all the aces
in a (all of a) dither
in all
in all good conscience
in all one's born days
in all probability
(all) in the same boat
it's all downhill from here
it's all over with
it takes all sorts
jump all over
know all the answers
know-it-all
laugh all the way to the bank
least of all
let it all hang out
not all it's cracked up to be
not at all
not for all the tea in china
no time at all
of all the nerve
of all things
once and for all
one and all
pull out all the stops
put all one's eggs in one basket
seen one, seen them all
till all hours
to all intents and purposes
(all) to the good
turn out all right
walk all over
warts and all
when all's said and done
with all due respect
with all one's heart
you can't win them all