all at once
Idioms-
All at the same time, as in We can't get inside all at once, so please wait your turn . [Late 1300s]
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Suddenly, unexpectedly, as in All at once the sky darkened . For a synonym, see all of a sudden .
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.
Now plenty of them are coming, all at once.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The film is fearless and fallible and fabulous all at once, designed to expand the consciousness and open the heart.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The more I looked into the cult of Cane’s, the more I understood how the country’s most obsessed-over digit-shaped delicacy took America by storm, slowly and then all at once.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
But SpaceX decided to use a more complex approach that gradually allows more insider-owned shares to become eligible for sale over time, rather than all at once.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
I was walking along; calling, looking, and listening for monkeys when all at once I smelled something.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
