all-important
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of all-important
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
After “Let ’Em In,” McCartney asked his band member Brian Ray to show off the song’s all-important bass line: a single note plucked over and over and over again.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026
By offering students and parents advice on university applications and choice of majors, he sought to help them achieve what many view as an all-important goal: better job prospects.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
This time the Fed is expected to continue cutting rates: “And if, as I expect, U.S. inflation remains stuck at around 3%, then the all-important real interest rate will continue to decline.”
From MarketWatch • Jan. 9, 2026
It also has managed to protect its all-important search business—at least for now—from the surging popularity of chatbots, which are changing how consumers use the internet.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
On New Year’s Eve the parlor was deserted, for the two younger girls played dressing maids and the two elder were absorbed in the all-important business of ‘getting ready for the party’.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
