English Reference
Idiom idiom

on all fours


On one's hands and knees.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

“The baby crawls on all fours across the floor.”

CONTEXTUAL

“I dropped my ring under the sofa and had to search on all fours to find it.”

COMPLEX

“The old gardener, stiff with age, still worked on all fours among the flower beds, tending each plant with patient hands.”


Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    four score and seven years ago

    Used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.

  2. 02

    four sheets to the wind

    Extremely drunk.

  3. 03

    vanish to the four winds

    To disappear; to cease to exist.

Last updated August 10, 2026