Meaning of all in English

all

determiner, predeterminer, pronoun

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/ɔːl/ us

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/ɑːl/

every one (of), or the complete amount or number (of), or the whole (of):

All animals have to eat in order to live.

She has four children, all under the age of five.

The cast all lined up on stage to take their bow.

Have you drunk all (of) the milk?

Have you drunk it all?

All the eggs got broken.

Now the money's all mine!

All my friends agree.

I've been trying all day/week to contact you.

She had £2,000 under the bed and the thieves took it all.

I had to use all my powers of persuasion to get her to agree.

Remember all that trouble we had with the police last year?

So long as he's happy - that's all that matters (= the most important thing).

All (= the only thing) I need is a roof over my head and a decent meal.

The judge cleared the court of all but (= everyone except) herself and the witness.

Why do you get so angry with me all the time (= very often)?

It's very kind of you to come all the way to meet me.

all in all

considering all the different parts of the situation together:

All in all, I think you've done very well.

all I'm saying informal

used when you make a comment or criticism, so that it seems less severe or is less likely to offend someone:

All I'm saying is I think the end part could have been a little shorter.

We should do our best, that's all I'm saying.

all the... you have

the only and small amount or number of something you have:

Her parents died when she was a baby, so I was all the family she ever had.

More examples

Obviously we can't deal with the problem until we know all the circumstances.
We all clapped his performance enthusiastically.
I want you to clear all these toys away before bedtime.
The suspect said that he had been at home all evening.
She had £2,000 under the bed and the thieves took it all.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Linguistics: both, all, each & every

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General

Linguistics: sentences & expressions

General words for size and amount

Grammar

All

…

All as a determiner

All means ‘every one’, ‘the complete number or amount’ or ‘the whole’. We use it most often as a determiner. We can use a countable noun or an uncountable noun after it: …

All with no article

When all refers to a whole class of people or things, we don’t use the: …

All of

We use all of before personal pronouns (us, them), demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) and relative pronouns (whom, which). The personal pronoun is in the object form: …

All without of

We use all, not all of, before indefinite plural nouns referring to a whole class of people or things: …

All with personal pronouns

When all refers to a personal pronoun which is the object in a clause, we can use pronoun + all or all of + pronoun. The pronoun is in the object form: …

All as a pronoun

We can use all alone as a pronoun in formal situations: …

All as an adverb

When all refers to the subject of a clause, it usually comes in the normal mid position for adverbs (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first auxiliary verb, or after be as a main verb): …

All meaning ‘completely’ or ‘extremely’

We can also use all as an adverb meaning ‘completely’ or ‘extremely’, especially in informal styles: …

All: not all

We can make all negative by using not in front of it: …

All: after all

We use after all in two main ways. We use it to mean ‘in spite of what happened before’. With this meaning it usually occurs in end position: …

All or every?

All and every are determiners. …

All and every + nouns

The meaning of all and every is very similar but we use them in different ways. We use all with plural and uncountable nouns and every with singular nouns: …

All (of) the

We can use all and all of before articles (the, a/an), demonstratives (this, that) and possessives (our, his) but we can’t use every before them: …

All day, every day

We use all day, all week, all month to mean ‘one entire day/week/month’: …

All or every: typical errors

…

All or whole?

All and whole are determiners. …

All or whole for single entities

We use the whole or the whole of to refer to complete single things and events that are countable and defined: …

All the with uncountable nouns

We use all the and not the whole with uncountable nouns: …

All and whole with plural nouns

We usually use all the and all of the with plural nouns: …

All and whole: typical errors

…

Idioms

all good things (must) come to an end
all of sth
be all (that) you can do
that's all I/you/we need!

all

adverb

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/ɔːl/ us

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/ɑːl/

completely:

The cake was all eaten last night.

The downstairs rooms were painted all in greens and blues.

The baby got food all over her dress.

Don't let her get you all upset.

She's been all over town looking for you.

I've been hearing all about your weekend!

We had a difficult time but it's all over now.

The princess lived all alone/by herself in the middle of the forest.

used after a number to mean that both teams or players in a game have equal points:

The score at half-time was still four all.

all but

almost:

The game was all but over by the time we arrived.

I'd all but given up on you.

all round UK (US all around)

in every way:

It was a ghastly business all round.

It's been a good day all around.

all the better, stronger, more exciting, etc.

even or much better, stronger, more exciting, etc.:

She felt all the better for the drink.

I've lost ten pounds and I feel all the fitter for it.

More examples

His fingerprints were all over the gun.
I had a train to catch, so I was watching the clock all through the meeting.
When I tried to tell her that I loved her it just came out all wrong.
The area where I grew up has been all modernized, and has lost all its old character.
I had to read the letter twice before I could take it all in.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Complete and whole

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Linguistics: both, all, each & every

Almost

Linguistics: very & extreme

Grammar

All

…

All as a determiner

All means ‘every one’, ‘the complete number or amount’ or ‘the whole’. We use it most often as a determiner. We can use a countable noun or an uncountable noun after it: …

All with no article

When all refers to a whole class of people or things, we don’t use the: …

All of

We use all of before personal pronouns (us, them), demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) and relative pronouns (whom, which). The personal pronoun is in the object form: …

All without of

We use all, not all of, before indefinite plural nouns referring to a whole class of people or things: …

All with personal pronouns

When all refers to a personal pronoun which is the object in a clause, we can use pronoun + all or all of + pronoun. The pronoun is in the object form: …

All as a pronoun

We can use all alone as a pronoun in formal situations: …

All as an adverb

All meaning ‘completely’ or ‘extremely’

We can also use all as an adverb meaning ‘completely’ or ‘extremely’, especially in informal styles: …

All: not all

We can make all negative by using not in front of it: …

All: after all

We use after all in two main ways. We use it to mean ‘in spite of what happened before’. With this meaning it usually occurs in end position: …

All or every?

All and every are determiners. …

All and every + nouns

The meaning of all and every is very similar but we use them in different ways. We use all with plural and uncountable nouns and every with singular nouns: …

All (of) the

We can use all and all of before articles (the, a/an), demonstratives (this, that) and possessives (our, his) but we can’t use every before them: …

All day, every day

We use all day, all week, all month to mean ‘one entire day/week/month’: …

All or every: typical errors

…

All or whole?

All and whole are determiners. …

All or whole for single entities

We use the whole or the whole of to refer to complete single things and events that are countable and defined: …

All the with uncountable nouns

We use all the and not the whole with uncountable nouns: …

All and whole with plural nouns

We usually use all the and all of the with plural nouns: …

All and whole: typical errors

…

Idioms

be all over it 
be sb all over
be all go
be not all there
go all out

all-

prefix

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/ɔːl-/ us

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/ɑːl-/

used in front of many nouns to form adjectives meaning "every", "every type of", or "the whole of" that particular thing:

an all-night bar (= a bar that is open for the whole night)

used in front of many adjectives and present participles to mean "everything" or "everyone":

an all-inclusive price

all-conquering armies

used in front of many nouns and adjectives to mean "completely":

all-cotton socks (= socks that are made completely of cotton)

When cooking the sauce, don't forget that all-important (= most or very important) ingredient, fresh basil.

Do you believe in an all-powerful god (= one with unlimited power)?

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Linguistics: both, all, each & every

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Complete and whole

Linguistics: very & extreme

(Definition of all from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

all | American Dictionary

all

adjective

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/ɔl/

all adjective (EVERY ONE)

every one of, or the complete number of:

All four of her children are under six.

Not all my friends approved of what I did.

All but the weakest plants survived the hot weather.

all adjective (COMPLETELY)

[ not gradable ]

the whole:

I’ve been trying all day to contact you.

Idioms

all but
all manner of
all of
all of a sudden
not all that
all the time in the world
all told
all too
all very well
of all people

More idioms

on all fours

all

adverb [ not gradable ]

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/ɔl/

all adverb [not gradable] (COMPLETELY)

completely:

This coat is all wool.

Is the milk all gone?

Did you drink it all?

Don’t get all upset.

All is also used after a number to mean that both teams or players in a game have equal points:

The score at halftime was 10 all.

all over

everywhere in a place or area:

Soon the news was all over town.

There were these tiny little blue flowers growing all over.

Idiom

all along

all

pronoun

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/ɔl/

all pronoun (EVERY ONE)

every one:

All of her children have graduated from high school.

all pronoun (ONE THING)

the one thing:

Speed is all that matters.

All I need is a hot shower.

all | Business English

all

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/ɔːl/ us

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be all go UK

if a situation or place is all go, it is extremely busy:

It was all go in the office today.

go all out

to put all your energy or enthusiasm into what you are doing:

Investors going all out for growth with some risk might be interested in this new unit trust.

Translations of all

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每一個, 全部，全體, 所有…

みんな, 全員, すべて…

hepsi, tamamı, zamanın tamamı…

tout le, toute la, tous les…

tots, totes, tot…

جَميع, طوال, كُلّ…

celý, všechen, všichni…

hele, al, enhver…

seluruh, semua, sepenuhnya…

ทั้งหมด, ทั้งปวง, อย่างมาก…

toàn bộ, tất cả…

wszyscy, wszystkie, cały…

semua, keseluruhan, cukup…

ganz, alle, umso…

all, hele, alle…

모두, (시간이 지속되어)내내, 오직 한 가지…

todos, todas, todo…

每一个, 全部，全体, 所有…

tutti, tutte, tutto…

все, всё, весь…

todos, -as, todo…

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What is the pronunciation of all?

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alky

alkyl

alkyl group BETA

alkyne

all

all along idiom

all along the line idiom

all and sundry idiom

all at once idiom

Meaning of all in English

Grammar

Idioms

Grammar

Idioms

all | American Dictionary

all adjective (EVERY ONE)

all adjective (COMPLETELY)

Idioms

all adverb [not gradable] (COMPLETELY)

Idiom

all pronoun (EVERY ONE)

all pronoun (ONE THING)

all | Business English

Translations of all

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