all but

Idioms  

1. Almost, nearly, as in I've all but finished the book. This expression was used by Andrew Marvell in “Thoughts in a Garden”: “Society is all but rude, To this delicious solitude.” [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all but

Walters spent all but one month of his 20s in jail or prison.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Veteran Tyler Higbee caught two passes, but lost a fumble that all but sealed the victory for the 49ers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

The Federal Reserve looks all but certain to hike interest rates on Wednesday, even though it would risk making the large U.S. debt burden more precarious to manage.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

CPI print was interpreted by markets as all but sealing a 25bp increase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

This was no longer unusual at all, but what was unusual was that days later, many of them returned.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• about
• approximately
• around
• essentially
• most
• much
• practically
• relatively
• roughly
• virtually