ɔ:l adj., n., & adv. --adj. 1 a
the whole amount,
quantity, or
extent of (waited all
day; all
his life; we all
know why;
take it all). b (with pl.) the
entire number of (all the others left; all
ten men; the
children are all boys;
film stars all). 2
any whatever (beyond all doubt). 3 greatest
possible (with all speed). --n. 1 a all the persons or things
concerned (all
were present; all were thrown away). b
everything (all is
lost;
that is all). 2 (foll. by of) a the whole of (take all of it). b
every one of (all of us). c colloq. as
much as (all of
six feet tall). d colloq.
affected by; in a
state of (all of a dither). 3 one's whole
strength or resources (prec. by
my,
your, etc.). 4 (in games) on
both sides (two goals all). °Widely used
with of in
sense 2a, b,
esp.
when followed by a
pronoun or by a
noun implying a number of persons or things, as in all of the children are
here.
However,
use with mass nouns (as in all of the bread) is
often avoided. --adv. 1 a
entirely,
quite (dressed all in
black; all
round the
room; the all-important thing). b as an
intensifier (a
book all
about ships;
stop all
this grumbling). 2 colloq.
very (went all shy). 3 (foll. by the + compar.) a by so much; to that extent (if
they go, all the better). b in the full
degree to be expected (that makes it all the worse). øall
along all the
time (he
was joking all along). all-American 1 representing the whole of (or only) America or the
US. 2
truly American (all-American boy). all
and sundry everyone. all-around US = all-round. All Blacks colloq. the
New Zealand
international Rugby Union football team. all but very
nearly (it was all but
impossible; he was all but drowned). all-clear a signal that
danger or
difficulty is
over. All Fools' Day 1
April. all
for colloq. strongly in
favour of. All Hallows see
HALLOW. all-important
crucial;
vitally important. all in colloq. exhausted. all-in (attrib.)
inclusive of all. all in all everything considered. all-in wrestling wrestling with
few or no restrictions. all
manner of see MANNER. all of a
sudden see SUDDEN. all one (or the same) (usu. foll. by to) a
matter of
indifference (it's all one to me). all
out involving all one's strength; at full
speed (also (with hyphen) attrib. : an all-out effort). all over 1 completely finished. 2 in or on all parts of (esp. the body) (went
hot and
cold all over;
mud all over the carpet). 3 colloq. typically (that is
you all over). 4 sl. effusively
attentive to (a person). all-purpose
suitable for
many uses. all
right (predic.) 1
satisfactory;
safe and
sound; in
good condition. 2 satisfactorily, as desired (it worked out all right). 3 a an
interjection expressing
consent or
assent to a
proposal or
order. b as an intensifier (that's the one all right). all-right attrib.adj. colloq. fine,
acceptable (an all-right guy). all round 1 in all respects (a good
performance all round). 2 for
each person (he
bought drinks all round). all-round (attrib.) (of a person)
versatile. all-rounder
Brit. a versatile person. All Saints' Day 1 Nov. all the
same nevertheless, in
spite of this (he was
innocent but was punished all the same). all set colloq.
ready to
start. All Souls' Day 2 Nov. all
there colloq. mentally
alert. all-time (of a
record etc.)
hitherto unsurpassed. all the time see TIME. all
together all at
once; all in one
place or in a
group (they
came all together) (
cf. ALTOGETHER). all
told in all. all-up
weight the
total weight of an
aircraft with passengers,
cargo,
etc., when
airborne. all very well colloq. an
expression used to
reject or to
imply scepticism about a
favourable or consoling
remark. all the
way the whole
distance; completely. at all (with neg. or interrog.) in any way; to any extent (did
not swim at all;
did you like it at all?). be all up with see
UP. in all in total number;
altogether (there were 10
people in all). on all fours see
FOUR. one and all everyone. [OE all, eall, prob. f. Gmc]