all-over
adjective
covering the entire surface
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all-over
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all over
all over
Everywhere. The phrase may be used alone, as in I've looked all over for that book , or The very thought of poison ivy makes me itch all over . In addition it can be used as a preposition, meaning “throughout,” as in The news spread all over town . [Early 1600s] Also see far and wide .
all-over
Britishadjective
all over
Idioms
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Everywhere. The phrase may be used alone, as in I've looked all over for that book , or The very thought of poison ivy makes me itch all over . In addition it can be used as a preposition, meaning “throughout,” as in The news spread all over town . [Early 1600s] Also see far and wide .
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In all respects, as in He is his Aunt Mary all over . Charles Lamb had this usage in a letter (1799) about a poem: “The last lines ... are Burns all over.” [Early 1700s]
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Also, all over again . Again from the beginning. For example, They're going to play the piece all over , or Do you mean you're starting all over again? [Mid-1500s]
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Also, all over with . Quite finished, completed, as in By the time I arrived the game was all over , or Now that she passed the test, her problems are all over with . This phrase uses over in the sense of “finished,” a usage dating from the 1300s. Also see all over but the shouting ; have it (all over) , def. 4.
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.
See Examples For:
But this is Image Magazine, so I will fearlessly match our readers’ freak and suggest this wild set from Brain Dead with a trippy pseudo-camo all-over print.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
The creamy white kit has an all-over red design of Mixtec art outlines in celebration of Mexico’s fighting spirit.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2022
Lorraine, from Burnage, south Manchester, was eventually diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia - a condition which causes all-over body pain and extreme tiredness.
From BBC ● May 11, 2022
It's the perfect, just-set icing on top of pastries, cookies, and cakes at your favorite bakeries — perhaps most identified as the all-over glaze atop petit fours.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2021
Jumping around my room in an all-over IBS wiggly dance, feet kicking, he steps on markers.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
Her latest trip took her to the cliffs outside León, Spain, where eclipse chasers from all over the world gathered to witness the otherworldly event.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Last summer their gross transfer spend was £71m which was dwarfed by Manchester, City, Chelsea and Arsenal who were all over £200m while Wolves, who finished bottom last season, were £109m.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Pringles, Burger King all went with ultra-minimal redesigns, as if anyone would see Pringles as a forward-thinking tech company and not the perfect contraption to get sour cream–and–onion dust all over your hands.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
There’s a floating population of eagles all over North America, “and many of those birds, when they reach four years of age, are now in the business of prospecting,” Bloom said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The stovepipe came clattering down from the ceiling, belching a bushel of black soot all over us and the room, including the head of Abraham Lincoln.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
