Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to indicate that you are referring to the whole of a particular group or thing or to everyone or everything of a particular kind.
...the restaurant that Hugh and ~ his friends go to...
He lost ~ his money at a blackjack table in Las Vegas.
PREDET: PREDET det pl-n/n-uncount
•
All is also a determiner.
There is built-in storage space in ~ bedrooms...
85 percent of ~ American households owe money on mortgages...
He was passionate about ~ literature.
DET: DET pl-n/n-uncount
•
All is also a quantifier.
He was told to pack up ~ of his letters and personal belongings...
He was talking to ~ of us.
QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n/def-n-uncount
•
All is also a pronoun.
We produce our own hair-care products, ~ based on herbal recipes...
I’d spent ~ I had, every last penny.
PRON
•
All is also an emphasizing pronoun.
Milk, oily fish and egg ~ contain vitamin D...
We ~ admire professionalism and dedication.
PRON: n PRON v
2.
You use ~ to refer to the whole of a particular period of time.
George had to cut grass ~ afternoon...
She’s been feeling bad ~ week.
DET: DET sing-n
•
All is also a predeterminer.
She’s worked ~ her life...
He was looking at me ~ the time.
PREDET: PREDET det sing-n
•
All is also a quantifier.
He spent ~ of that afternoon polishing the silver...
Two-thirds of the women interviewed think about food a lot or ~ of the time.
QUANT: QUANT of def-n
3.
You use ~ to refer to a situation or to life in general.
All is silent on the island now...
As you’ll have read in our news pages, ~ has not been well of late.
PRON
4.
You use ~ to emphasize that something is completely true, or happens everywhere or always, or on every occasion.
He loves animals and he knows ~ about them...
Parts for the aircraft will be made ~ round the world...
I got scared and I ran and left her ~ alone...
He was doing it ~ by himself...
ADV: ADV prep/adv emphasis
5.
You use ~ at the beginning of a clause when you are emphasizing that something is the only thing that is important.
He said ~ that remained was to agree to a time and venue...
All you ever want to do is go shopping!...
All I could say was, ‘I’m sorry’.
PRON emphasis
6.
You use ~ in expressions such as in ~ sincerity and in ~ probability to emphasize that you are being sincere or that something is very likely.
In ~ fairness he had to admit that she was neither dishonest nor lazy...
DET: in DET n-uncount emphasis
7.
You use ~ when you are talking about an equal score in a game. For example, if the score is three ~, both players or teams have three points.
ADV: amount ADV
8.
All is used in structures such as ~ the more or ~ the better to mean even more or even better than before.
The living room is decorated in pale colours that make it ~ the more airy...
ADV: ADV the adv/adj-compar
9.
You use ~ in expressions such as seen it ~ and done it ~ to emphasize that someone has had a lot of experience of something.
...women who have it ~: career, husband and children...
Here’s a man who has seen it ~, tasted and heard it ~.
PRON emphasis
10.
You say above ~ to indicate that the thing you are mentioning is the most important point.
Above ~, chairs should be comfortable...
PHRASE: PHR with cl/group emphasis
11.
You use after ~ when introducing a statement which supports or helps explain something you have just said.
I thought you might know somebody. After ~, you’re the man with connections.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
12.
You use after ~ when you are saying that something that you thought might not be the case is in fact the case.
I came out here on the chance of finding you at home after ~...
PHRASE
13.
You use and ~ when you want to emphasize that what you are talking about includes the thing mentioned, especi~y when this is surprising or unusual.
He dropped his sausage on the pavement and someone’s dog ate it, mustard and ~.
PHRASE: n PHR emphasis
14.
You use ~ in ~ to introduce a summary or general statement.
We both thought that ~ in ~ it might not be a bad idea...
PHRASE: PHR with cl
15.
You use at ~ at the end of a clause to give emphasis in negative statements, conditional clauses, and questions.
Robin never re~y liked him at ~...
PHRASE emphasis
16.
All but a particular person or thing means everyone or everything except that person or thing.
The general was an unattractive man to ~ but his most ardent admirers...
PHRASE: PHR n
17.
You use ~ but to say that something is almost the case.
The concrete w~ that used to divide this city has now ~ but gone...
PHRASE: PHR -ed
18.
You use for ~ to indicate that the thing mentioned does not affect or contradict the truth of what you are saying.
For ~ its faults, the film instantly became a classic.
= despite
PHRASE: PHR n
19.
You use for ~ in phrases such as for ~ I know, and for ~ he cares, to emphasize that you do not know something or that someone does not care about something.
For ~ we know, he may even not be in this country...
You can go right now for ~ I care.
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis
20.
If you give your ~ or put your ~ into something, you make the maximum effort possible.
He puts his ~ into every game.
PHRASE: V inflects
21.
In ~ means in total.
There was evidence that thirteen people in ~ had taken part in planning the murder.
PHRASE: PHR with cl, amount PHR
22.
If something such as an activity is a particular price ~ in, that price includes everything that is offered. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)
Dinner is about ?25 ~ in.
PHRASE: amount PHR, PHR with cl
23.
You use of ~ to emphasize the words ‘first’ or ‘last’, or a superlative adjective or adverb.
First of ~, answer these questions...
Now she faces her toughest task of ~.
PHRASE: PHR with superl emphasis
24.
You use of ~ in expressions such as of ~ people or of ~ things when you want to emphasize someone or something surprising.
They met and fell in love in a supermarket, of ~ places.
PHRASE: PHR n emphasis
25.
You use ~ in expressions like of ~ the cheek or of ~ the luck to emphasize how angry or surprised you are at what someone else has done or said.
Of ~ the lazy, indifferent, unbusinesslike attitudes to have!
PHRASE feelings
26.
You use ~ of before a number to emphasize how sm~ or large an amount is.
It took him ~ of 41 minutes to score his first goal...
PHRASE: PHR amount emphasis
27.
You use ~ that in statements with negative meaning when you want to weaken the force of what you are saying. (SPOKEN)
He wasn’t ~ that older than we were...
PHRASE: PHR with brd-neg, PHR adj/adv vagueness
28.
You can say that’s ~ at the end of a sentence when you are explaining something and want to emphasize that nothing more happens or is the case.
‘Why do you want to know that?’ he demanded.—‘Just curious, that’s ~.’...
PHRASE: cl PHR
29.
You use ~ very well to suggest that you do not re~y approve of something or you think that it is unreasonable.
It is ~ very well to urge people to give more to charity when they have less, but is it re~y fair?
PHRASE: v-link PHR disapproval