all

[ awl ]

/ ɔl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR all ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year.

the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students.

the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree): with all due respect; with all speed.

every: all kinds; all sorts.

any; any whatever: beyond all doubt.

nothing but; only: The coat is all wool.

dominated by or as if by the conspicuous possession or use of a particular feature: The colt was all legs. They were all ears, listening attentively to everything she said.

Chiefly Pennsylvania German. all gone; consumed; finished: The pie is all.

pronoun

the whole quantity or amount: He ate all of the peanuts. All are gone.

the whole number; every one: all of us.

everything: Is that all you want to say? All is lost.

noun

one's whole interest, energy, or property: to give one's all; to lose one's all.

(often initial capital letter) the entire universe.

adverb

wholly; entirely; completely: all alone.

only; exclusively: He spent his income all on pleasure.

each; apiece: The score was one all.

Archaic. even; just.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for all

above all, before everything else; chiefly: Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.

after all, in spite of the circumstances; notwithstanding: He came in time after all.

all at once. once(def 9).

all but, almost; very nearly: These batteries are all but dead.

all in, Northern and Western U.S. very tired; exhausted: We were all in at the end of the day.

all in all,

everything considered; in general: All in all, her health is greatly improved.
altogether: There were twelve absentees all in all.
everything; everything regarded as important: Painting became his all in all.

all in hand, Printing, Journalism. (of the copy for typesetting a particular article, book, issue, etc.) in the possession of the compositor.

all in the wind, Nautical. too close to the wind.

all out, with all available means or effort: We went all out to win the war.

all over,

finished; done; ended.
everywhere; in every part.
in every respect; typically.

all standing, Nautical.

in such a way and so suddenly that sails or engines are still set to propel a vessel forward: The ship ran aground all standing.
fully clothed: The crew turned in all standing.
fully equipped, as a vessel.

all that, remarkably; entirely; decidedly (used in negative constructions): It's not all that different from your other house.

all the better, more advantageous; so much the better: If the sun shines it will be all the better for our trip.

all there, Informal. mentally competent; not insane or feeble-minded: Some of his farfetched ideas made us suspect that he wasn't all there.

all the same. same(def 9).

all told. told(def 2).

all up,

Printing, Journalism. (of copy) completely set in type.
Informal. with no vestige of hope remaining: It's all up with George—they've caught him.

and all, together with every other associated or connected attribute, object, or circumstance: What with the snow and all, we may be a little late.

at all,

in the slightest degree: I wasn't surprised at all.
for any reason: Why bother at all?
in any way: no offense at all.

for all (that), in spite of; notwithstanding: For all that, it was a good year.

in all, all included; all together: a hundred guests in all.

once and for all, for the last time; finally: The case was settled once and for all when the appeal was denied.

Origin of all

before 900; Middle English al, plural alle; Old English eal(l); cognate with Gothic alls, Old Norse allr, Old Frisian, Dutch, Middle Low German al, Old Saxon, Old High German al(l) (German all); if < *ol-no-, equivalent to Welsh oll and akin to Old Irish uile < *ol-io-; cf. almighty

SYNONYMS FOR all

2 every one of, each of.

14 totally, utterly, fully.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR all ON THESAURUS.COM

usage note for all

Expressions like all the farther and all the higher occur chiefly in informal speech: This is all the farther the bus goes. That's all the higher she can jump. Elsewhere as far as and as high as are generally used: This is as far as the bus goes. That's as high as she can jump.
Although some object to the inclusion of of in such phrases as all of the students and all of the contracts and prefer to omit it, the construction is entirely standard.
See also already, alright, altogether.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH all

all awl (see usage note at the current entry)

Words nearby all

alkylating drug, alkylation, alkylic, alkyne, alkyne series, all, all along, all along the line, all and sundry, all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others, all at once

Definition for all over (2 of 2)

over

[ oh-ver ]

/ ˈoʊ vər /

preposition

above in place or position: the roof over one's head.

above and to the other side of: to leap over a wall.

above in authority, rank, power, etc., so as to govern, control, or have jurisdiction regarding: There is no one over her in the department now.

so as to rest on or cover; on or upon: Throw a sheet over the bed.

on or upon, so as to cause an apparent change in one's mood, attitude, etc.: I can't imagine what has come over her.

on or on top of: to hit someone over the head.

here and there on or in; about: at various places over the country.

through all parts of; all through: to roam over the estate; to show someone over the house.

to and fro on or in; across; throughout: to travel all over Europe.

from one side to the other of; to the other side of; across: to go over a bridge.

on the other side of; across: lands over the sea.

reaching higher than, so as to submerge: The water is over his shoulders.

in excess of; more than: over a mile; not over five dollars.

above in degree, quantity, etc.: a big improvement over last year's turnout.

in preference to: chosen over another applicant.

throughout the length of: The message was sent over a great distance.

until after the end of: to adjourn over the holidays.

throughout the duration of: over a long period of years.

in reference to, concerning, or about: to quarrel over a matter.

while engaged in or occupied with: to fall asleep over one's work.

via; by means of: He told me over the phone. I heard it over the radio.

adverb

beyond the top or upper surface or edge of something: a roof that hangs over.

so as to cover the surface, or affect the whole surface: The furniture was covered over with dust.

through a region, area, etc.: He was known the world over.

at some distance, as in a direction indicated: They live over by the hill.

from side to side; across; to the other side: to sail over.

across an intervening space: Toss the ball over, will you?

across or beyond the edge or rim: The soup boiled over. The bathtub ran over.

from beginning to end; throughout: to read a paper over; Think it over.

from one person, party, etc., to another: Hand the money over. He made the property over to his brother.

on the other side, as of a sea, a river, or any space: over in Japan.

so as to displace from an upright position: to knock over a glass of milk.

so as to put in the reversed position: She turned the bottle over. The dog rolled over.

once more; again: Do the work over.

in repetition or succession: twenty times over.

in excess or addition: to pay the full sum and something over.

in excess of or beyond a certain amount: Five goes into seven once, with two over.

throughout or beyond a period of time: to stay over till Monday.

to one's residence, office, or the like: Why don't you come over for lunch?

so as to reach a place across an intervening space, body of water, etc.: Her ancestors came over on the Mayflower

adjective

upper; higher up.

higher in authority, station, etc.

serving, or intended to serve, as an outer covering; outer.

remaining or additional, surplus; extra.

too great; excessive (usually used in combination): Insufficient tact and overaggressiveness are two of his problems.

ended; done; past: when the war was over.

noun

an amount in excess or addition; extra.

Military. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target.

Cricket.

the number of balls, usually six, delivered between successive changes of bowlers.
the part of the game played between such changes.

verb (used with object)

to go or get over; leap over.

Southern U.S. to recover from.

interjection

(used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.)Compare out(def 53).

Origin of over

before 900; (adv., preposition) Middle English; Old English ofer; cognate with Dutch over, German ober; (adj.) Middle English over(e), orig. variant of uver(e) (E dial. uver; cf. love), Old English ufera (akin to ofer), assimilated to the adv. form; akin to Latin super, Greek hypér, Sanskrit upari. See up, hyper-

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for all over (1 of 2)

all

/ (ɔːl) /

determiner

the whole quantity or amount of; totality of; every one of a classall the rice; all men are mortal
(as pronoun; functioning as sing or plural)all of it is nice; all are welcome
(in combination with a noun used as a modifier)an all-ticket match; an all-amateur tournament; an all-night sitting

the greatest possiblein all earnestness

any whateverto lose all hope of recovery; beyond all doubt

above all most of all; especially

after all See after (def. 11)

all along all the time

all but almost; nearlyall but dead

all of no less or smaller thanshe's all of thirteen years

all over

finished; at an endthe affair is all over between us
over the whole area (of something); everywhere (in, on, etc)all over England
typically; representatively (in the phrase that's me (you, him, us, them, etc) all over)Also (Irish): all out
unduly effusive towards
sport in a dominant position over

See all in

all in all

everything consideredall in all, it was a great success
the object of one's attention or interestyou are my all in all

all that or that (usually used with a negative) informal (intensifier)she's not all that intelligent

all the (foll by a comparative adjective or adverb) so much (more or less) than otherwisewe must work all the faster now

all too definitely but regrettablyit's all too true

and all

British informal as well; tooand you can take that smile off your face and all
Southern African a parenthetical filler phrase used at the end of a statement to make a sl ight pause in speaking

and all that informal

and similar or associated things; et ceteracoffee, tea, and all that will be served in the garden
used as a filler or to make what precedes more vague: in this sense, it often occurs with concessive forceshe was sweet and pretty and all that, but I still didn't like her
See that (def. 4)

as all that as one might expect or hopeshe's not as pretty as all that, but she has personality

at all

(used with a negative or in a question) in any way whatsoever or to any extent or degreeI didn't know that at all
even so; anywayI'm surprised you came at all

be all for informal to be strongly in favour of

be all that informal, mainly US to be exceptionally good, talented, or attractive

for all

in so far as; to the extent thatfor all anyone knows, he was a baron
notwithstandingfor all my pushing, I still couldn't move it

for all that in spite of thathe was a nice man for all that

in all altogetherthere were five of them in all

adverb

(in scores of games) apiece; eachthe score at half time was three all

completelyall alone

be all … informal used for emphasis when introducing direct speech or nonverbal communicationhe was all, 'I'm not doing that'

noun

(preceded by my, your, his, etc) (one's) complete effort or interestto give your all; you are my all

totality or whole

Other words from all

Related prefixes: pan-, panto-

Word Origin for all

Old English eall; related to Old High German al, Old Norse allr, Gothic alls all

British Dictionary definitions for all over (2 of 2)

over

/ (ˈəʊvə) /

preposition

directly above; on the top of; via the top or upper surface ofover one's head

on or to the other side ofover the river

during; through, or throughout (a period of time)

in or throughout all parts ofto travel over England

throughout the whole extent ofover the racecourse

above; in preference toI like that over everything else

by the agency of (an instrument of telecommunication)we heard it over the radio

more thanover a century ago

on the subject of; aboutan argument over nothing

while occupied indiscussing business over golf

having recovered from the effects ofshe's not over that last love affair yet

over and above added to; in addition tohe earns a large amount over and above his salary

adverb

in a state, condition, situation, or position that is or has been placed or put over somethingto climb over

(particle) so as to cause to fallknocking over a policeman

at or to a point across intervening space, water, etccome over and see us; over in America

throughout a whole areathe world over

(particle) from beginning to end, usually cursorilyto read a document over

throughout a period of timestay over for this week

(esp in signalling and radio) it is now your turn to speak, act, etc

more than is expected or usualnot over well

over again once more

over against

opposite to
contrasting with

over and over (often foll by again) repeatedly

over the odds

in addition, esp when not expected
unfair or excessive

adjective

(postpositive) finished; no longer in progressis the concert over yet?

adverb, adjective

remaining; surplus (often in the phrase left over)

noun

cricket

a series of six balls bowled by a bowler from the same end of the pitch
the play during this

Word Origin for over

Old English ofer; related to Old High German ubir, obar, Old Norse yfir, Latin super, Greek huper

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

Idioms and Phrases with all over (1 of 3)

all over

Everywhere. The phrase may be used alone, as in I've looked all over for that book, or The very thought of poison ivy makes me itch all over. In addition it can be used as a preposition, meaning “throughout,” as in The news spread all over town. [Early 1600s] Also see far and wide.

In all respects, as in He is his Aunt Mary all over. Charles Lamb had this usage in a letter (1799) about a poem: “The last lines ... are Burns all over.” [Early 1700s]

Also, all over again. Again from the beginning. For example, They're going to play the piece all over, or Do you mean you're starting all over again? [Mid-1500s]

Also, all over with. Quite finished, completed, as in By the time I arrived the game was all over, or Now that she passed the test, her problems are all over with. This phrase uses over in the sense of “finished,” a usage dating from the 1300s. Also see all over but the shouting; have it (all over), def. 4.

Idioms and Phrases with all over (2 of 3)

all

In addition to the idioms beginning with all

all along
all along the line
all and sundry
all at once
all at sea
all better
all but
all cylinders
all ears
all else being equal
alley cat
all eyes
all for
all for the best
all gone
all hours
all in a day's work
all in all
all in, be
all in good time
all in one piece
all joking aside
all kinds of
all of
all of a sudden
all of the above
all one
all out
all outdoors, big as
all over
all over but the shouting
all over one
all over the place
all over with
all present and accounted for
all right
all right for you
all right with one
all roads lead to Rome
all set
all sewed up
all shook up
all sorts
all systems go
all talk (and no action)
all that
all that glitters is not gold
all the
all the best
all the better
all the rage
all there
all the same
all the thing
all the time
all the way
all the worse
all things to all people, be
all thumbs
all told
all to the good
all up
all very well
all well and good
all wet
all wool and a yard wide
all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)
all year round

also see:

above all
after all
against all odds
as all getout
at all
at all costs
be-all and end-all
beat all
by all accounts
by all means
by all odds
cap it all
fall all over
firing on all cylinders
first of all
for all
for all I care
for all I know
for all one's worth
for all that
get away (from it all)
get one's act (it all) together
go all the way
have all one's buttons
have it all over someone
have it both ways (all)
hit on all cylinders
hold all the aces
in a (all of a) dither
in all
in all good conscience
in all one's born days
in all probability
(all) in the same boat
it's all downhill from here
it's all over with
it takes all sorts
jump all over
know all the answers
know-it-all
laugh all the way to the bank
least of all
let it all hang out
not all it's cracked up to be
not at all
not for all the tea in china
no time at all
of all the nerve
of all things
once and for all
one and all
pull out all the stops
put all one's eggs in one basket
seen one, seen them all
till all hours
to all intents and purposes
(all) to the good
turn out all right
walk all over
warts and all
when all's said and done
with all due respect
with all one's heart
you can't win them all

Idioms and Phrases with all over (3 of 3)

over

In addition to the idioms beginning with over

over a barrel
over again
over against
over and above
over and done with
over and over
over my dead body
over one's head
over the edge
over the hill
over the hump
over the top
over with

also see:

all over

(and entries beginning with all over)bend over backwardbind overblow overboil overbowl overcarry overcheck on (over)chew the cud (over)cloud overcome overcross overcrow overcry over spilt milkdo overdraw a veil overdrop by (over)fall all overfork overfuck overget overget the advantage of (over)give overgloss overgo overhand overhand over fisthang overhash overhave a hold overhave it (all over someone)head over heelshold overhoneymoon is overin deep water (over one's head)it's all over withjump all overkeel overkeep watch (over)kick over the tracesknock for a loop (over with a feather)knock overlay overlook like death (warmed over)look overlord it overlose sleep overmake overmind over mattermull overonce over lightlypaper overparty's overpass overpick overpull overpull the wool over someone's eyesput overrake over the coalsride roughshod overroll overroof over one's headrun one's eyes overrun overscoot oversign oversleep oversmooth overstand overstart overstop off (over)take overtalk overthink overthrow overtide overtill hell freezes overturn in (over) one's graveturn overturn over a new leafwalk all overwatch overwater over the damwin overwork over.

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

all

adjective

pronoun

noun

adverb

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

Idioms for all

Origin of all

SYNONYMS FOR all

usage note for all

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH all

Words nearby all

Definition for all over (2 of 2)

preposition

adverb

adjective

noun

verb (used with object)

interjection

Origin of over

Words related to all over

British Dictionary definitions for all over (1 of 2)

determiner

adverb

noun

Other words from all

Word Origin for all

British Dictionary definitions for all over (2 of 2)

preposition

adverb

adjective

adverb, adjective

noun

Word Origin for over

Idioms and Phrases with all over (1 of 3)

Idioms and Phrases with all over (2 of 3)

Idioms and Phrases with all over (3 of 3)