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

Even so, Soderbergh likes to make movies as resourcefully as he can, doing his own editing and cinematography and, above all, prioritizing the act of invention.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

He became a reader, then a writer, and above all a collector and seller of books.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

"Because, honestly, this guy is a top coach and above all a top man with a really big heart."

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

“Many asset classes are now tracking oil almost tick for tick, so for markets, this is what matters above all else right now,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid in a note.

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

At length we saw the numerous steeples of London, St. Paul’s towering above all, and the Tower famed in English history.

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley