- all
- all (ôl)adj.1. Being or representing the entire or total number, amount, or quantity: »
All the windows are open. Deal all the cards.
See Synonyms at WHOLE(Cf. ↑whole).2. Constituting, being, or representing the total extent or the whole: »all Christendom.
3. Being the utmost possible of: »argued the case in all seriousness.
4. Every: »got into all manner of trouble.
5. Any whatsoever: »beyond all doubt.
6. Pennsylvania Consumed; used up; gone: »The apples are all.
7. Informal Being more than one: »Who all came to the party?
See Note at Y'ALL(Cf. ↑y'all).n. ▸ The whole of one's fortune, resources, or energy; everything one has: »The brave defenders gave their all.
pron. 1) The entire or total number, amount, or quantity; totality: »All of us are sick. All that I have is yours.
2) Everyone; everything: »justice for all.
adv. 1) a) Wholly; completely: »a room painted all white.
b) So much: »I am all the better for that experience.
c) Used as an intensive: »Then he got all mad and left.
2) Each; apiece: »a score of five all.
Idioms:● all along ▸ From the beginning; throughout: »saw through the disguise all along.
● all but ▸ Nearly; almost: »all but crying with relief.
● all in 1) Tired; exhausted. 2) Used in poker as a declaration that one is staking all of one's chips.● all in all ▸ Everything being taken into account: »All in all, the criticism seemed fair.
● all of Informal ▸ Not more than: »a conversation that took all of five minutes.
● all one ▸ Of no difference; immaterial: »Whether we go out or stay in, it's all one to me.
● all over1. Completely ended or finished: »Their marriage is all over.
2. In every part; everywhere: »The storm swept across the island and left damage all over.
3. Typical of the person or thing just mentioned: »Making wisecracks like that—that's Jim all over.
4. Showing much romantic interest or being in close contact: »He was all over her during the slow dance.
5. Persistently or harshly critical or scolding: »The coach was all over me about missing practice.
● all out ▸ With all one's strength, ability, or resources.● all that Informal ▸ To the degree expected.● all there ▸ Mentally unimpaired or competent.● all told ▸ With everything considered; in all: »All told, we won 100 games.
● and all ▸ And other things of the same type: »"The only thing they seemed to have in common was their cowboy gear, ten-gallon hats and all"
(Edward Chen).● at all 1) In any way: »unable to walk at all.
2) To any extent; whatever: »not at all sorry.
● be all Informal ▸ To say or utter. Used chiefly in verbal narration: »He's all, "What did you do that for?"
● in all ▸ Considering everything; all together: »In all, it rained for two hours. I bought four hats, in all.
╂ [Middle English al, from Old English eall; see al-3.]Usage Note: The constructionall that
is used informally in questions and negative sentences to mean "to the degree expected." In the late 1960s, the Usage Panel rejected its use, but evidently resistance toall that
is crumbling. In our 1997 survey, 72 percent of the Panel found the construction acceptable in the sentenceThe movie is not all that interesting.
· Sentences of the formAll X's are not Y
may be ambiguous.All of the departments did not file a report
may mean that some departments did not file, or that none did. The first meaning can be expressed unambiguously by the sentenceNot all of the departments filed a report.
The second meaning can be more clearly phrased asNone of the departments filed a report
orAll of the departments failed to file a report.
The same problem can arise with other universal terms such as every in negated sentences, as in the ambiguousEvery department did not file a report.
See Usage Note at EVERY(Cf. ↑every).Word History: In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, groups of immigrants from southwestern Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland settled in Pennsylvania. The groups spoke closely related dialects of German that eventually merged into a new, distinctly American variety of German that came to be known as Pennsylvania Dutch. (The word Dutch in this expression comes from Deitsch, the Pennsylvania German equivalent of Deutsch, the standard German word for "German." The spelling of the word as Dutch has undoubtedly been influenced by the English word Dutch. English Dutch comes from the Middle Dutch word Dūtsch, meaning "Dutch" or "German," that is the Dutch equivalent of the German word Deutsch.) Pennsylvania Dutch, which is still spoken in some communities in Pennsylvania today—notably by the Amish—has contributed a number of words to American English, including dunk, hex, smearcase, snollygoster, spritz, and perhaps snickerdoodle. The dialect has also left other traces in the grammar and usage of English in Pennsylvania. For instance, in German, the word alle, literally meaning "all," can be used idiomatically to mean "all gone, used up, at an end." The standard German sentence Der Kaffee ist alle (word for word, "The coffee is all") means "The coffee is all gone" or "The coffee has been used up," for example. Some Pennsylvanians, too, may say The coffee is all to mean "The coffee is all gone"—the use of the English word all to mean "all gone" reflects the influence of Pennsylvania Dutch and reminds us of the days when many Pennsylvanians were bilingual in English and Pennsylvania Dutch and would switch back and forth between them in their daily lives.
Word Histories. 2014.
