above all

American  

[uh-buhv awl] / əˈbʌv ˈɔl /

idiom

1. most important of all; before everything else; chiefly.

   Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.

   He said that, above all else, he was a dad of two young children.

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above all More Idioms  

1. More than anything else, as in A winter hike calls for good equipment, but above all it requires careful planning. This phrase first appears in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377), in which the narrator exhorts readers to love the Lord God above all. Also see first and last.

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Etymology

Origin of above all

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

I am still praying for you and your family above all else.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

"Because, honestly, this guy is a top coach and above all a top man with a really big heart."

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

AI algorithms "allow us to move much faster in handling information, and above all to be more comprehensive," said Bertrand Rondepierre, head of the French army's AI agency AMIAD.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

“Campy, openly and equally hateful and opportunistic, and above all, shameless.”

From Slate • Mar. 6, 2026

That was the thought that troubled him above all else, more than his many other cares.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton