by all accounts

Idioms

Also, according to all accounts. From all reports available, from what everyone is saying. For example, By all accounts the party was a great success, or They spent a fortune on their cruise, according to all accounts. These phrases rely on account in the sense of “a particular report or description of some event.” [Late 1700s]

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:

by all accounts

Broadway, top-heavy with musical parodies and attention-grabbing revivals, is having a strange season by all accounts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

And by all accounts, Hencely had a strong claim against Fluor.

From Slate ● Apr. 22, 2026

Known as “the Crab” because he was born with a sixth finger on one hand, Rodríguez Castro is Raúl Castro’s oldest and, by all accounts, favorite grandson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

The two-week truce is by all accounts fragile, and there is little evidence that the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes, has reopened.

From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026

‘But we call it lembas or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.’

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023