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Synonyms

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]

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.

Doncic had played all but one game since the All-Star break.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Nevertheless, investors should watch Bitcoin through the long weekend with the Middle East situation on a knife edge and market-moving news all but inevitable.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

An attack against one member is deemed to be an attack against all but invoking this principle requires a consensus.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

The splitter had fallen out of fashion and all but disappeared from Major League Baseball.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

By the spring of 1944, with the Nazis’ South American spy networks all but crushed, Elizebeth was eager for a new challenge.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

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.