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.
Film and flight are still touchstones of adventure and possibility, after all.
From Los Angeles Times
"That made Piccadilly so successful and thought of so fondly even after all these years," he explained.
From BBC
The break-even point — which is when the difference between getting smaller Social Security checks for longer or larger checks for shorter balances out — is in the early 80s, after all.
From MarketWatch
Maybe having too much control over our destiny is a bad thing after all.
From Salon
It is, after all, the kids at the center of the story that kept us coming back for more.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
