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

Maybe the key is to hold steady, stay focused and deliver clothes that are, above all, wearable.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

One of them stands head and shoulders above all others - the 4-2 victory over Denmark in November that propelled Scotland into their first World Cup in 28 years.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

Of course, I hoped above all that he would survive for his wife and kids.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Instead of blanket-dismissing tech entrepreneurs or wholesale manifesting a god in the machine, Pope Leo has sought a careful, studied, moral middle ground: one that encourages technological progress but upholds human dignity above all.

From Slate • May 28, 2026

He always had to prove himself the smartest, the trickiest, and above all, the most renowned.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia