all

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English all, al, from Old English eall; akin to Old High German all all Date: before 12th century 1. a. the whole amount, quantity, or extent of <

needed all the courage they had

> <

sat up all night

> b. as much as possible <

spoke in all seriousness

> 2. every member or individual component of <

all men will go

> <

all five children were present

> 3. the whole number or sum of <

all the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles

> 4. every <

all manner of hardship

> 5. any whatever <

beyond all doubt

> 6. nothing but ; only: a. completely taken up with, given to, or absorbed by <

became all attention

> b. having or seeming to have (some physical feature) in conspicuous excess or prominence <

all legs

> c. paying full attention with <

all ears

> 7. dialect used up ; entirely consumed — used especially of food and drink 8. being more than one person or thing <

who all is coming

> Synonyms: see whole II. adverb Date: before 12th century 1. a. wholly, quite <

sat all alone

> — often used as an intensive <

all out of proportion

> <

all over the yard

> <

it wasn't all that funny

> b. selected as the best (as at a sport) within an area or organization — used in combination <

all-league halfback

> 2. obsolete only, exclusively 3. archaic just 4. so much <

all the better for it

> 5. for each side ; apiece <

the score is two all

> III. pronoun, singular or plural in construction Date: before 12th century 1. a. the whole number, quantity, or amount ; totality <

all that I have

> <

all of us

> <

all of the books

> b. — used in such phrases as for all I know, for all I care, and for all the good it does to indicate a lack of knowledge, interest, or effectiveness 2. everybody, everything <

gave equal attention to all

> <

that is all

> IV. noun Date: 1593 the whole of one's possessions, resources, or energy <

gave his all for the cause

>