all

/ɔl/

/ɔl/

Other forms: aller; alls

When you say “I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China!” you are talking about every single leaf of tea in the entire country of China. That's a lot of tea.

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. When I ask, “Did you eat all of the pie?” I mean, “Is there a piece left for me?”. If you are "all upset" about something, you are very upset; what's upset you has got a hold of you. Would some pie cheer you up?

Definitions of all

1. adverb

   entirely or completely, as in "He's all alone" or "My homework is all done"
2. pronoun

   every person or thing, or the entire amount, as in "All have left the building" or "All of them are eaten"
3. adjective

   involving the entire amount or every part of something, as in "They ate all the candy" or "She studied all week to prepare for the test"
4. adverb

   to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (`whole' is often used informally for `wholly')
   “the directions were all wrong”

   synonyms: altogether, completely, entirely, totally, whole, wholly
5. adjective

   quantifier; used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
   “we sat up all night”

   “ate all the food”

   “all men are mortal”

   “all parties are welcome”

   synonyms:

   each

   (used of count nouns) every one considered individually

   every

   (used of count nouns) each and all of the members of a group considered singly and without exception

   every last

   (used as intensive) every

   every

   each and all of a series of entities or intervals as specified

   antonyms:

   some

   quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

   no

   quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of

   many

   a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large but indefinite number

   few

   a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number

   any, whatever, whatsoever

   one or some or every or all without specification

   both

   (used with count nouns) two considered together; the two

   several

   (used with count nouns) of an indefinite number more than 2 or 3 but not many

   nary

   (used with singular count nouns) colloquial for 'not a' or 'not one' or 'never a'

   none

   not any

   zero

   having no measurable or otherwise determinable value
6. adjective

   completely given to or absorbed by
   “became all attention”

   synonyms:

   complete

   having every necessary or normal part or component or step