All

/ɔːl/

determinerBeginner🔥Very CommonQuantity
3 meanings1 idiom/phrase2 questions

Definitions

3 meanings
1

The whole number or amount; every one of.

/ɔːl/

determinerneutralBeginner
Quantity

The whole quantity or extent.

All the apples are red.

💡 Simply: Everything

More Examples

2

All of us went to the movie.

How It's Used

General

"All the children went to the park."

2

Everything; everyone.

/ɔːl/

pronounneutralBeginner
Quantity

The whole number or amount.

All went to the party.

💡 Simply: Everything or everyone.

More Examples

2

All are welcome.

How It's Used

General

"All is well that ends well."

Tip:All includes everything.
3

Totally; completely.

/ɔːl/

adverbneutralIntermediate
Extent

Completely; entirely.

The house was all decorated for Christmas.

💡 Simply: Completely

More Examples

2

He's all wet.

How It's Used

General

"He was all smiles."

Tip:Think of 'all over' meaning completely.

Idioms & expressions

all in all

Considering everything.

"All in all, it was a good day."

From Old English *eal, *æl, from Proto-Germanic *allaz (also source of Old High German all, Old Norse allr, etc.), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

The word 'all' has been used in English for centuries, appearing in early texts with largely the same meanings as today.

Memory tip

Think of 'all' encompassing everything.

Word Origin

LanguageProto-Germanic
Original meaning

"whole, complete"

all the timeall of a suddenall things considered

Usage

85%Spoken
95%Written