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.
Then on Thursday, Eisenkot and the two Arab leaders—Mansour Abbas of United Arab List and Yousef Jabareen of Joint List—announced they were joining forces after all.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
Valtteri Bottas was retained for 2020 after all.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Others pointed out that after all the uncertainty and second-guessing ahead of the vote, investors on Wednesday appeared to simply be glad the midterms are over.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
It’s an abstract matryoshka shape, after all, a triangle, a trinity—mother, daughter, doll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
He hadn’t forgotten about that cure after all.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
