Definition of 'all'
1. predeterminer
You use all to indicate that you are referring to the whole of a particular group or thing or to everyone or everything of a particular
kind.
...the restaurant that Hugh and all his friends go to.
He lost all his money at a blackjack table in Las Vegas.
There is built-in storage space in all bedrooms.
85 percent of all American households owe money on mortgages.
Germany, like all great nations, will not change its personality.
He was passionate about all literature.
All is also a quantifier.
He was told to pack up all of his letters and personal belongings.
He was talking to all of us.
All is also a pronoun.
We produce our own hair-care products, all based on herbal recipes.
I'd spent all I had, every last penny.
All is also an emphasizing pronoun.
Milk, oily fish and egg all contain vitamin D.
We all admire professionalism and dedication.
2. determiner
You use all to refer to the whole of a particular period of time.
George had to cut grass all afternoon.
She's been feeling bad all week.
All is also a predeterminer.
She's worked all her life.
He was looking at me all the time.
All is also a quantifier.
He spent all of that afternoon polishing the silver.
Two-thirds of the women interviewed think about food a lot or all of the time.
3. pronoun
4. adverb
You use all to emphasize that something is completely true, or happens everywhere or always, or on every occasion.
[emphasis] He loves animals and he knows all about them.
Parts for the aircraft will be made all round the world.
I got scared and I ran and left her all alone.
He was doing it all by himself.
All around he could hear people calling out his name.
5. pronoun
6. determiner
You use all in expressions such as in all sincerity and in all probability to emphasize that you are being sincere or that something is very likely.
[emphasis] In all fairness he had to admit that she was neither dishonest nor lazy.
If the pool was open, we'd in all probability still be swimming in it.
In all seriousness, there is nothing else I can do.
7. adverb [v-link ADV adj-graded]
8. adverb
9.
10. pronoun
You use all in expressions such as seen it all and done it all to emphasize that someone has had a lot of experience of something.
[emphasis] You can't have it all - life is about choice, time is limited.
Here's a man who has seen it all, tasted and heard it all.
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COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
determiner
1.
a.
all the rice
all men are mortal
c.
(in combination with a noun used as a modifier)
an all-ticket match
an all-amateur tournament
an all-night sitting
3.
any whatever
to lose all hope of recovery
beyond all doubt
4. above all
5. after all
6. all along
7. all but
8. all of
9. all over
10. all in
11. all in all
12. all that
13. all the
14. all too
15. and all
16. and all that
17. as all that
18. at all
19. be all for
20. be all that
21. for all
22. for all that
23. in all
noun
▶ Related prefixes: , pan-, panto-27. (preceded by my, your, his, etc)
to give your all
you are my all
28.
totality or whole
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin of 'all'
adjective
3.
every one of
all men must eat
4.
the greatest possible; as much as possible
said in all sincerity
5.
any; any whatever
true beyond all question
6.
every
now used only in such phrases as all manner of men pronoun
10. [with pl. v.]
everyone
all must die
11. [with pl. v.]
every one
all of us are here; all of the pencils are sharpened
12.
everything; the whole thing, matter, situation, etc.
all is over between them
noun
14.
one's whole property, effort, etc.
gave his all
15.
a totality; whole
adverb
17.
apiece
a score of thirty all
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'all'
Example sentences containing 'all'
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.
Read more…
The courtyard stayed packed with a few hundred people salsa dancing all night. The Sun (2016)Part of the problem is almost all his teachers have been women. Times, Sunday Times (2016)We all want to get something big and we are working for it. The Sun (2016)Tell me my mum and dad are going to be all right. Times, Sunday Times (2016)This all seems incredibly frivolous and sounds suspiciously like a waste of time. Times, Sunday Times (2016)He claims he uses all his products. Times, Sunday Times (2016)Who said all political careers end in failure? Times, Sunday Times (2016)When you see scenes like that at the end it makes it all worthwhile. Times, Sunday Times (2017)We try to give all the best to our players but sometimes it is difficult. The Sun (2016)The current economic crisis gives us all an opportunity to rethink our priorities. Times, Sunday Times (2009)The thin plastic bottles are used by almost all drinks manufacturers. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The only way to escape it completely is to live in the desert all alone. Christianity Today (2000)We all want to know that the tests are to the same standard. Times, Sunday Times (2012)When you have this list you may already have a spot it could all possibly go. Times, Sunday Times (2009)With hindsight it all seemed more vengeful than petulant. Times, Sunday Times (2007)Which technology series uses all nine letters? The Sun (2014)Yet some people still insist all political careers end in failure. The Sun (2016)Says we all need to make time to smell the roses. Times, Sunday Times (2006)Why the hell play it then when all these people have extra time drinking. The Sun (2013)All four also demand damages for a decrease in the value of their properties. The Sun (2012)Within no time at all he was panting and sweating. Times, Sunday Times (2012)Yet they all seem cheery about their arrangements. Times, Sunday Times (2016)We are all going in our own directions and all do completely different things. The Sun (2009)We all know that and are aware of it. The Sun (2010)We shall all have to put our shoulder to the wheel. Times, Sunday Times (2016)They cannot be altogether surprised if people now lump them all together in impotent fury. Times, Sunday Times (2009)What she had said about hoping that he would not come was all hypocrisy. Vanity Fair (1837)Wonder if my change is all right. Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain (2006)We all have this great power of belief in us. POSITIVE THINKING: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but were
afraid to put into practice (2001)He made all here last time and could get an easy lead again. The Sun (2011)Would you like to turn all bitter and sour foods into delicious desserts? Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Trends of 'all'
Extremely Common. all is one of the 1000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary
View usage for:
Nearby words of 'all'
Source
Definition of all from the
Collins English Dictionary
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