know-all

American

[noh-awl] / ˈnoʊˌɔl /

noun

Informal.

a know-it-all.

know-all British

noun

informal a person who pretends or appears to know a great deal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of know-all

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

There are no public ceremonies; a maxim of the fellowship is in substance: "Know all things but remain unknown."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Know all about it!" said Leicester; "you don't even know where it is!"

From The Dorrance Domain by Wells, Carolyn

Know all that this is so by order of the Judge of Probate.

From History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III by Stanton, Elizabeth Cady

Know all that my illness proceeded only from my fear that there might be in my kingdom a house in ruins.

From Malayan Literature by Various

Know all you can, love all you can, do all you can—that is the whole duty of man.

From Memories and Studies by James, Henry

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