for all the world

Idioms  

1. In all respects, precisely, as in She looked for all the world like Greta Garbo . [Late 1300s]

2. Also, not for the world . Not for anything, not at any price. For example, I wouldn't give up chocolate for all the world , or Not for the world would I reveal your secret . This hyperbolic expression is generally part of a negative statement. [First half of 1800s] For a synonym, see not for love or money .

---

Example Sentences

Two years before Princess Elizabeth became queen, she felt the special sting of having details of her family’s private life splashed out in print for all the world to see.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

The trap was set and sprung for all the world to see.

From Salon • Mar. 2, 2025

He’s like a bully who stole someone’s lunch money and then says, “Stop crying about it”—except it’s for all the world to see.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2023

Senate — open, out front, for all the world to plainly see — Katie Porter has placed the contest where it belongs: squarely before the voters of California.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2023

He could hear a blackbird, and sparrows, and a lark, for all the world as though it was already spring.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman