Skip to main content
in all

in all

806 1.0
The total when you add everything together
  • idiom
translation icon : en total
  • In all the meetings we had last month, we covered every important topic.
  • three in all
  • in all cases
  • four in all

Examples

  • It is absurd and wonderful in all the right ways.

  • There are certain mythologies that are present in all cultures over all time.

  • I have a good life all in all, but I...

  • All in all, it's been an exciting, very interesting trip.

  • But there is, in all of this complexity, a plan.

  • Where is the best coffee shop to study in all of Vancouver?

  • This is what puts money in all our pockets.

  • So you see this in all sorts of group settings.

  • Ambition is personal, which means it comes in all shapes and all sizes.

  • It's the only light we've got in all this darkness.

Synonyms

overall
vsin all
616 3.1

Including all parts to give a general view

is the simple total idea rather than a broad aspect view
altogether
vsin all
189 3.0

In total when you add everything

is used for general inclusion not focusing on counted totals
all in all
vsin all
76 3.2

A way to say you have thought about everything

is the plain total amount not a summary of judgments
all told
vsin all
9 4.2

In total when everything is included

is used more generally for inclusion not only counting numbers

Antonyms

374 2.2

To some degree but not completely

Surface Forms

in all positive

Morphology

in + all

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'.