Definitions
01every part or member
A1 · Beginner
det. every person or thing in a group, with no one or nothing left out.
det. denoting the entire number or amount of a group or class; functions as a predeterminer before articles or possessives.
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“All the students in the class passed the final exam.”
“All the evidence gathered by the investigators suggests that the fire was started by a faulty electrical circuit in the basement.”
Usage
Used before plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns.
Pitfall
All the people was happy.
All the people were happy.
When 'all' refers to a plural noun, the verb must also be plural.
02the whole period
A1 · Beginner
det. during the whole time of a specific period.
det. referring to the entire duration of a stated period, typically used with units of time like day, week, or year.
“It rained all day, so we stayed inside and watched movies.”
“The team worked all night to ensure the software update was ready for the morning launch.”
Usage
Usually placed before the time noun without an article, such as 'all day' or 'all night'.
Synonyms
03everything or everyone
A1 · Beginner
pron. everyone in a group or everything that exists in a situation.
pron. representing the whole number of people or things previously mentioned or understood from context.
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“The cake was delicious, and soon it was all gone.”
“Although many were invited to the gala, all were required to present their credentials at the main entrance.”
Usage
Can be followed by 'of' before pronouns, like 'all of us'.
Synonyms
04the only thing
B1 · Intermediate
pron. the only thing that is important or the only thing someone wants.
pron. used to specify the sole requirement, action, or object in a given context.
“All I want for my birthday is a new pair of running shoes.”
“All the manager asked for was a brief summary of the weekly sales figures before the board meeting began.”
Usage
Often used as the subject of a sentence followed by 'is' or 'was'.
Synonyms
05completely
B1 · Intermediate Informal
adv. completely or totally.
adv. functioning as an intensifier meaning wholly or entirely.
“He was all alone in the big house after his roommates left.”
“The children were all excited about the trip, their faces pressed against the bus windows as they departed.”
Usage
Often used before adjectives or prepositions.
Synonyms
Antonyms
06each in a score
B1 · Intermediate Sports
adv. used in sports to say that both teams or players have the same score.
adv. denoting an equal score for each side in a game or competition.
“At halftime, the score was two-all.”
“The match concluded at three-all, forcing the teams into a penalty shootout to determine the winner of the trophy.”
Usage
Placed after the number of the score.
07one's best effort
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. everything you are able to do; your greatest effort.
n. the totality of one's strength, resources, or abilities applied to a task.
“She gave her all during the race and finished in first place.”
“The athletes were exhausted after the marathon, having given their all on the challenging uphill course.”
Usage
Commonly used in the phrase 'to give one's all'.
Confusables
All focuses on the total number of individual items, while whole focuses on the entirety of a single unit.
RememberAll for plural; whole for singular.
Etymology
From Middle English all, from Old English eall, from Proto-West Germanic all, from Proto-Germanic allaz, of uncertain origin but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“all”). Cognates Cognate with Scots a, a', aa, aal, aw (“all”), Yola aal, al, all, aul (“all”), North Frisian aal, aale, ale, ali, åle (“all”), Saterland Frisian al (“already”), aal (“all”), West Frisian alle (“all”), Dutch al (“all”), German and Luxembourgish all (“all”), Vilamovian oły, ołły (“all”), Yiddish אַלע (ale, “all”), Danish al (“all”), Faroese and Icelandic allur (“all”), Norwegian Bokmål and Swedish all (“all”), Norwegian Nynorsk aillj, all (“all”), Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐍃 (alls, “all”); also Breton and Welsh holl (“all”), Cornish oll (“all”), Irish alig, eile, uile, uileag, uilig (“all”), Manx ooilley (“all”), Scottish Gaelic uile, uileag (“all”), Lithuanian aliái (“every”), Armenian ողջ (oġǰ, “entire, whole”). The dialectal sense “all gone” is a calque of German alle. The use in [Term?] (“who all, where all”) etc. also has equivalents in German (see alles).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Grammar
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A2 KeyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.3.0–4.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 2.0–2.524–43TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.225–549
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A2 · ElementaryOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/all
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「日本語」「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0