after all
Idioms-
Despite everything, nevertheless, as in The plane took off half an hour late but landed on time after all .
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After everything else has been considered, ultimately, as in Mary has final approval of the guest list; after all, it's her wedding . The two usages are pronounced differently, the first giving stress to the word after and the second to the word all . Both date from the early 1700s. Also see when all is said and done .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Turns out the old jacket wasn’t so random after all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
He doesn't need a World Cup win to cement his greatness - after all, Messi's first didn't come until he was 35.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
The Cleveland Fed’s model could be wrong, after all.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The author’s final portrait of an entertainment industry sacrificed on the altar of streaming services and superhero franchises isn’t, after all, the end of the story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
He was, after all, the one who’d saved Clare from an afterlife of Pain, by offering him this chance to serve as Usher.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
