The meaning of ALL is the whole amount, quantity, or extent of. How to use all in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of All.

n. The whole of one's fortune, resources, or energy; everything one has: The brave defenders gave their all.

All means ‘every one’, ‘the complete number or amount’ or ‘the whole’. We use it most often as a determiner. We can use a countable noun or an uncountable noun after it: … When all refers to a …

Mar 22, 2026 · From Middle English all- (also al-), from Old English eall-, eal- (“all-”). Cognate with Dutch al-, German all-, Swedish all-. More at all.

All- is added to nouns or adjectives in order to form adjectives which describe something as consisting only of the thing mentioned or as having only the quality indicated.

The whole of one's fortune, resources, or energy; everything one has. The brave defenders gave their all.

Who should I meet in New York but Max of all people! = Of all the people in New York, who should I run into but Max! [=I was very surprised to meet Max in New York]

the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year. the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students.

When you talk about all of one thing, you mean the whole thing. When Shakespeare writes, in As You Like It, “ All the world's a stage,” he means the whole world.

ALL definition: the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration). See examples of all used in a sentence.