all-out
[ awl-out ]
/ ˈɔlˌaʊt /
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adjective
using all one's resources; complete; total: an all-out effort.
OTHER WORDS FOR all-out
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Origin of all-out
1905–10; adj. use of all out utterly, completely, Middle English al out
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use all-out in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for all-out
all-out
/ informal /
adjective
using one's maximum powersan all-out effort
adverb all out
to one's maximum effort or capacityhe went all out on the home stretch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with all-out
all out
With all one's strength, ability, or resources; not holding back. For example, They are going all out to make the fund-raiser a success. This seemingly modern term dates from about 1300, when it meant “completely” or “wholly.” It now refers to making a great effort and is also used adjectivally, as in an all-out effort. This usage became current in America in the late 1800s, with reference to races and other kinds of athletic exertion. In the mid-1900s it gave rise to the phrase to go all out and was transferred to just about any energetic undertaking. Also see go whole hog.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.