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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.

If all of this sounds like motorsport is unattainable to all but a privileged few, it's worth bearing a couple of things in mind.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

That sometimes, the thing that makes a dish feel complete isn’t something new at all, but something that’s been sitting in your kitchen the whole time, waiting to be seen a little differently.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

The team all but admitted to its failure in 2021 when it traded both players away in exchange for draft picks in order to rebuild again.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

The market is taking those lyrics to heart, with stocks pushing toward fresh highs and fear all but forgotten.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

He didn’t move or go to public school after all, but it was too much of the same stuff all the time, and I just didn't want to hear it.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

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.