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• all-out
  all-out

  adjective

  using all one's resources; complete; total.
• all out
  all out

  With all one's strength, ability, or resources; not holding back. For example, They are going all out to make the fund-raiser a success. This seemingly modern term dates from about 1300, when it meant “completely” or “wholly.” It now refers to making a great effort and is also used adjectivally, as in an all-out effort. This usage became current in America in the late 1800s, with reference to races and other kinds of athletic exertion. In the mid-1900s it gave rise to the phrase to go all out and was transferred to just about any energetic undertaking. Also see go whole hog.

all-out

American  

[awl-out] / ˈɔlˌaʊt /

adjective

1. using all one's resources; complete; total.

   an all-out effort.

   Synonyms:

   unremitting, exhaustive, unstinting

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all-out British  

adjective

1. using one's maximum powers

   an all-out effort

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adverb

1. to one's maximum effort or capacity

   he went all out on the home stretch

all out Idioms  

1. With all one's strength, ability, or resources; not holding back. For example, They are going all out to make the fund-raiser a success. This seemingly modern term dates from about 1300, when it meant “completely” or “wholly.” It now refers to making a great effort and is also used adjectivally, as in an all-out effort. This usage became current in America in the late 1800s, with reference to races and other kinds of athletic exertion. In the mid-1900s it gave rise to the phrase to go all out and was transferred to just about any energetic undertaking. Also see go whole hog.

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Usage

What does all-out mean? All-out describes using all of your resources or energy to accomplish something, as in Talya made an all-out effort on her midterm exams. The related phrase all out usually follows go and means to make a total effort, as in Jamal’s parents really went all out for his birthday party, treating all the guests to helicopter rides! Example: The away team won the game because they went for an all-out attack on the home team.

Etymology

Origin of all-out

1905–10; adj. use of all out utterly, completely, Middle English al out

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all-out all out

She went all-out, enthusiastically applying a maximalist interpretation of Supreme Court precedents.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

Inside China’s all-out push to catch up with American AI chips.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

The decisive question is how long Iran's leaders can preserve Hormuz as leverage without provoking an all-out war, renewed unrest or the construction of alternative routes that make the strait matter less.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

This was “Obsessed Fest,” Amazon Prime Video’s first-ever fan convention and a declaration of its all-out push into romance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

The irony of this all-out chemical assault on roadsides and utility rights-of-way is twofold.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

“The story I thought I was telling with my filmmaking, the stories of lives lived over decades, is now disjointed, confused — the reels are all out of order,” he says.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

“If you don’t intend to really go all out doing that, it’s going to be a really hard business, certainly in the short term while the education is still happening.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

The devastation from days of extreme weather has prompted President Xi Jinping to order "all out" rescue and relief operations.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

From a pan-African cookout on Juneteenth to $1 drink specials every time the U.S. team scores, these L.A. restaurants and bars are going all out for the 2026 World Cup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

So Van Helsing has gone to confer with Mrs. Harker and Harker; Quincey and Art are all out following up the clues as to the earth-boxes.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Related Words

• full-blown
• full-scale