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

Defeat would have left Chelsea nine points behind Arsenal and all but out of the title race.

From Barron's

The premium has all but evaporated.

From Barron's

Airbus said earlier Monday that the fix had been made on all but fewer than 100.

From The Wall Street Journal

The problem was, it was also going to inevitably rob them of track position around a track where overtaking is all but impossible.

From BBC

That would have meant McLaren had given up a leading track position at a track where overtaking was all but impossible.

From BBC

Related Words

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