all-over
Britishadjective
-
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 .
-
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]
-
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]
-
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.
“If you decide to make a big statement with an all-over colored tile, let that be the hero and think about how other elements in the room support that hero,” she says.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 13, 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
Gucci has a leather jacket with its all-over trademark print that will melt your bank account, but it’s a personal favorite of mine because it’s also a blazer.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 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
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.
