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

Brands such as Mixue Group, Luckin Coffee, and Wallace have tapped into a weaker consumer environment by offering what many Chinese shoppers now prioritize above all else: affordability.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

Xi has drawn one lesson from the Soviet Union’s collapse above all: Moscow’s economy was too narrow—dependent on a handful of industries such as steel, energy and weapons—to sustain a world power.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

This is still above all a lovely, soft yarn about crime-solving farm animals, some of them voiced by Regina Hall, Patrick Stewart, and the guy who plays Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso.”

From Salon • May 17, 2026

"Local people need to be told how this will affect them, how the passengers will be transported. We need reassurance above all."

From BBC • May 8, 2026

She had sources of contentment in her life—the house, the park, above all, the children—and she intended to preserve them by not challenging Jack.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan