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

Forward P/E ratios have declined for all but three of the sectors this year.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

Tracing anything to the federal government’s rules on mifepristone seemed all but impossible.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

Absent intervention from a higher court, Pirro’s investigation is all but dead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026

But it’s just this supposed difficulty that should ideally qualify him for all but the most timid of book clubs.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Once he looked straight at my hiding place, and I all but crawled down in my skin.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

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