for all

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Also, for all that. In spite of, notwithstanding. For example, For all her protests she still loved the attention, or He's too old for the part but he did a good job for all that. [Early 1300s]

for all one cares or knows. So far as one knows; also, one doesn't really care or know. These phrases are employed like a negative. For example, He can buy ten houses for all I care, meaning one doesn't care at all, or For all I know she's gone to China, meaning one doesn't really know where she is. [Mid-1700s]

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby for all

forage mite, forager, foraging, foraging ant, Foraker, for all, for all intents and purposes, for all one is worth, for all that, for all the world, for a loop

How to use for all in a sentence

Could anger at the Obamacare rollout make Americans more receptive to a kind of Medicare-for-all system?
Single Payer Is Getting a Second Life as Obamacare Frustration Peaks|David Freedlander|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They were surely trying to locate as many rightful owners as possible before the media free-for-all, but news got out.
Nazi Art Hoard Just the Tip of the Iceberg for Lost Art|Noah Charney|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The less urbanized Persian empire recovered first and seized the chance to launch a once-and-for-all war against depleted Rome.
David's Book Club: In the Shadow of the Sword|David Frum|June 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
What started as a website to promote his run for presidency in hours became a free-for-all for negative commentary.
Oops! Putin Creates an Online Forum for Detractors—Then Censors It|Anna Nemtsova|January 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The Internet has emerged as a pharmaceutical free-for-all in recent years.
Swine Flu Swindle|Allan Dodds Frank|October 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It was nearly eleven o'clock when the free-for-all running race was announced.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
The method pursued was to read a chapter, and follow with a free-for-all exposition of it.
Around Old Bethany|Robert Lee Berry
The most exciting feature of this weekly frivolity consisted of a free-for-all exercise in mental arithmetic.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume II. (of X.)|Various
I wondered about Marian; somehow I still don't like seeing a woman tangled up in a free-for-all.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
The Virginia reel was a marvel of supple, exaggerated grace and the quadrille looked like a free-for-all for unbroken colts.
Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up|Clarence Edward Mulford