but
17
1.0
- adverb
- /bʌt/
- Literature
:
tan solo
- Your stores of gold are all but gone.
- but disappeared
Examples
-
Prey has all but gone.
-
I will argue that the transformation of energy markets has all but eliminated traditional security threats.
Academic text (1999) -
One song I have but one song
-
Anyway, the fishing business is all but gone.
-
I had all but given up on anyone wanting him.
-
Those supply kits are all but gone.
-
And by the time autumn arrived, Rory had all but forgotten about the book.
-
Or because I'd waited so long, my chances had all but evaporated.
Fiction book (1995) -
The burn scars on his face have all but faded away.
Fiction book (1995) -
The meal cost all but five dollars after the discounts were applied.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Only the person, thing, or amount mentioned
∞
1.0
No more than the thing or person mentioned
∞
1.0
You say this when something is only what is said, nothing more
∞
1.5
Only, not anything else
836
3.1
Only and nothing more
92
2.9
To say that something is only what it is and not more important
Idioms
- Jargon
3
6.8
A perfect basketball shot that goes through the net without touching the rim or backboard
- Formal
1
8.7
Prepared while someone speaks the words and not checked by the writer, often containing mistakes
- Informal
1
7.1
Get a small success but lose a bigger long-term goal
- Informal
To feel so annoyed or frustrated that you make a soft unhappy sound
- Informal
Want food so much that you cannot stop your mouth from filling with saliva
- Informal
To be unable to stop yourself from staring in a rude or amazed way
- Informal
A way to say there are almost all things you can think of
- Informal
To stop being angry with someone but keep remembering what they did to avoid being hurt again
- Offensive
Looking awake but not paying attention or thinking clearly
A phrase that says hurt to the body is worse than insults and words do not hurt
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
But comes from the old English butan, which meant 'outside' or 'except', so when you say 'He is but a child' you are saying 'he is only' or 'no more than' a child.