ALL BUT | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of all but in English

all but

phrase Add to word list Add to word list everything or everyone except for: A week later, all but one of the fish were dead. They checked the samples and rejected all but two. The judge cleared the court of all but herself and the witness. All but one of the 24 industrial plants near the city were closed down. The school was originally built in 1950, and all but the foundation was rebuilt in 1995. Let's face it, all but the most insanely optimistic are tired of pretending that things are getting better. See also all determiner predeterminer pronoun

all but

phrase C2 almost: The game was all but over by the time we arrived. I'd all but given up on you. His addiction to gambling all but ruined him. The outcome of the election is all but certain. Scientists found that several of the compounds all but stopped the virus. See also all adverb not completely

• almostWe need to hurry up - it's almost time to go.
• nearlyIt's nearly midnight.
• nearHe was near tears (= almost crying).
• aboutAre you about ready to leave?
• all butThe concert was all but over by the time we arrived.
• well-nighIt was well-nigh impossible to get a person on the phone these days.

See more results » (Definition of all but from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

all but | American Dictionary

all but

idiom Add to word list Add to word list almost completely: In some places, bus service has all but disappeared. (Definition of all but from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of all but

in Chinese (Traditional) 幾乎，差不多… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 几乎，差不多… See more in Spanish casi… See more in Portuguese quase… See more Need a translator?

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all and sundry idiom all around all at once idiom All Blacks all but phrase all caps all comers all credit to someone phrase all day {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of all but

• all but
• in all but name idiom

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• in all but name idiom

Word of the Day

reticent

UK /ˈret.ɪ.sənt/ US /ˈret̬.ə.sənt/

unwilling to speak about your thoughts or feelings

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