above all

American  

[uh-buhv awl] / əˈbʌv ˈɔl /

idiom

1. most important of all; before everything else; chiefly.

   Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.

   He said that, above all else, he was a dad of two young children.

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above all More Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of above all

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

College courses must actively cultivate the virtues of curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual humility, analytical rigor and, above all, dedication to the pursuit of truth.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Mr. Sullivan freshens the familiar with shrewd diversions and, above all, the phenomenon of a relentlessly logical investigator confronting a mystery rooted in love and loyalty.

From The Wall Street Journal

We look to movies and celebrities and, above all, copy each other.

From The Wall Street Journal

But above all else, Goodwill needed to improve the shopping experience.

From The Wall Street Journal

But above all for many, insurers have become the focal point of indignation.

From Los Angeles Times