in all
- idiom
- In all the meetings we had last month, we covered every important topic.
- three in all
- in all cases
- four in all
Examples
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It is absurd and wonderful in all the right ways.
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There are certain mythologies that are present in all cultures over all time.
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I have a good life all in all, but I...
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All in all, it's been an exciting, very interesting trip.
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But there is, in all of this complexity, a plan.
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Where is the best coffee shop to study in all of Vancouver?
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This is what puts money in all our pockets.
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So you see this in all sorts of group settings.
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Ambition is personal, which means it comes in all shapes and all sizes.
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It's the only light we've got in all this darkness.
Synonyms
Including all parts to give a general view
A way to say you have thought about everything
In total when you add everything
In total when everything is included
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'in total' is directly derivable from combining 'in' (within/among) and 'all' (the whole/group), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning. This preposition + determiner pattern is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, making the phrase immediately comprehensible and compositional.
Etymology
The phrase in all comes from the simple picture of adding things together: imagine laying out coins and then saying how many there are in all. So it is used to mean 'in total' or 'including everything'.