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• all right
  all right

  adverb

  yes; very well; OK.
• all-right
  all-right

  adjective

  agreeable, acceptable, or commendable.

all right

¹ American  

[awl rahyt, awl rahyt] / ˌɔl ˈraɪt, ˈɔl ˈraɪt /

adverb

1. yes; very well; OK.

   All right, I'll go with you.

2. (used as an interrogative or interrogative tag) OK?; do you agree?.

   We'll deal with this problem tomorrow, all right?

3. satisfactorily; acceptably.

   His work is coming along all right.

4. without fail; certainly.

   You'll hear about this, all right!

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adjective

1. safe; sound.

   Are you all right?

2. satisfactory; acceptable.

   His performance was all right, but I've seen better.

3. Informal. reliable; good.

   That fellow is all right.

idioms

1. (a) bit of all right, quite satisfactory (used as an understatement).

   The way he saved that child's life was a bit of all right.

all-right ² American  

[awl-rahyt] / ˈɔlˌraɪt /

adjective

Informal.

1. agreeable, acceptable, or commendable.

   an all-right plan.

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all right British  

adjective

1. adequate; satisfactory

2. unharmed; safe

3. slang

   1. acceptable

      an all-right book

   2. reliable

      an all-right guy

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1. very well: used to express assent

adverb

1. satisfactorily; adequately

   the car goes all right

2. without doubt

   he's a bad one, all right

all right More Idioms  

1. Completely correct, as in You have a perfect score—your answers are all right . (It could just as well be put as “all your answers are right.”)

2. In proper or working order, in a satisfactory way, as in The engine is running all right now . [Late 1800s] Also see turn out all right .

3. In good health, as in John had the flu, but he's all right now . [Early 1900s]

4. Not injured, safe, as in It was just a minor accident and everyone is all right . [Early 1900s]

5. Very well, yes, as in Do you want to leave now?—All right , or All right, we'll stay home . [First half of 1800s] Also see all right with you .

6. Certainly, without a doubt, as in It's late all right, but it will probably come today . [Mid-1800s]

7. Hurrah! Good for you, as in All right! your team has done it again! [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

8. Also, all-right . Good, satisfactory. For example, This restaurant is all right , or Harry is an all-right guy . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

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Spelling

See alright.

Etymology

Origin of all right¹

First recorded in 1100–50; originally an adverbial phrase; compare Middle English al ri(g)ht “indeed, straightway, at once,” late Old English eall riht “just (as)”

Origin of all-right²

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

all right all-right

People dine out and buy more takeout when the economy is all right.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

"When you're a young child what you need is your parents to be able to tell you that things are all right," she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

“I’m driving out to these places to get miles more efficiently. When that happened, I was like, all right, I’m in it for the long haul.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

"Maybe it will be a good thing because, after all, right now there's nothing," said Ana Diago, 66, who retired and then returned to work at a port company.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Looking at Rowdy, I said, “It’s all right, boy. You can go with us.”

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Caleb Sturgis had an all-right Sunday, and that’s not good.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2018

And, according to other players, Beaty passed the word around the ABA that Utah was an all-right place to play.”

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2013

We did an all-right job on the glass, but things like that happen.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2012

It had turned out to be an all-right Wednesday afternoon after all.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

“She’s had her sadness, but she’s an all-right girl.”

From "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo