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at all costs

Idioms  
  1. Also,. Regardless of the expense or effort involved, by any means. For example, Ann told the doctor to preserve her mother's sight at all costs, or It seems the company plans to develop the product at any cost, or I'm determined to get vacation time at any price. [Mid-1800s]


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:

And they must be protected at all costs.

From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026

I meet Draper, a billionaire tech investor himself, at Silicon Valley's Draper University, his boot camp for young tech founders, where students pledge to "promote freedom at all costs".

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

You don’t want to turn into another person who is lobbying your grandmother at all costs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

The commander of ground troops, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, tries to bigfoot him, insisting the attack must go ahead at all costs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

They would defend Verdun at all costs, Falkenhayn reasoned, and would fight to regain the city if it was lost.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

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