all of the above

Idioms  

1. Also, none of the above. Each one (not any) of the above-named alternatives. For example, Have you decided to quit and announced your decision, or do you want to find another job first?—None of the above. These phrases originated as answers to a multiple-choice question on a test but are now also used colloquially, often as a form of avoiding a direct answer. They use above in the sense of “preceding,” a usage dating from the second half of the 1700s.

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Example Sentences

What 250 years means: Freedom, liberty, all of the above, life, love, everything.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026

"I want to see a stress response, excitement, emotional anxiety, fear, shouting, forgetting to breathe, perhaps breathing too much, all of the above."

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

Judge Fogel: Well, it’s all of the above.

From Slate • May 12, 2026

Jeanne Thompson had to do all of the above when she retired earlier than she had originally planned.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

She assured me that all of the above would have happened if we were down home in Autauga County, Alabama.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia