every
Americanadjective
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being one of a group or series taken collectively; each.
We go there every day.
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all possible; the greatest possible degree of.
every prospect of success.
idioms
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every bit, in every respect; completely.
This is every bit as good as she says it is.
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every which way, in all directions; in disorganized fashion.
I brushed against the table, and the cards fell every which way.
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every now and then, on occasion; from time to time: Also every once in a while, every so often.
She bakes her own bread every now and then.
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every other, every second; every alternate.
milk deliveries every other day.
determiner
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each one (of the class specified), without exception
every child knows it
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(not used with a negative) the greatest or best possible
every hope of success
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each: used before a noun phrase to indicate the recurrent, intermittent, or serial nature of a thing
every third day
every now and then
every so often
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(used in comparisons with as) quite; just; equally
every bit as funny as the other show
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each alternate; every second
every other day
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in all directions; everywhere
I looked every which way for you
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from all sides
stones coming at me every which way
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Synonym Usage
See each.
Etymology
Origin of every
First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English every, everich, Old English ǣfre ǣlc, literally “ever each” (the first element of the phrase reinforcing the second); see ever ( def. ), each
Explanation
Use the adjective every to talk about all examples of something or all the members of a group. If you invite every classmate to your party, you're asking all 30 of them to come. When you plan a trip to visit every national park in the US, you are intending to travel to 59 different parks — all of them. When you talk about time, you can also use every to explain how often an event occurs: "I've been waking up every hour lately." Every was originally a contraction of æfre ælc, "each of a group" or "ever each" in Old English.
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.
"It's just a routine of every day, we need to call the police and they come and say: 'What can we do?'," he adds.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
And every week, as the cafe's struggle becomes known, the queue for coffee gets longer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The outbreak was already the fastest growing on record, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said last week, warning that "the epidemic is killing someone every 30 minutes".
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nearly every state in the U.S. has a version of California’s slayer statute, which effectively disinherits beneficiaries who’ve “feloniously and intentionally” killed their benefactors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
When we used to come with Mom, she would always try to limit us to a few games each, and it caused a fight between her and Dad every time.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
