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after all

 - 7 dictionary results

af⋅ter

  [af-ter, ahf-]
Use after all in a Sentence
–preposition
1. behind in place or position; following behind: men lining up one after the other.
2. later in time than; in succession to; at the close of: Tell me after supper. Day after day he came to work late.
3. subsequent to and in consequence of: After what has happened, I can never return.
4. below in rank or excellence; nearest to: Milton is usually placed after Shakespeare among English poets.
5. in imitation of or in imitation of the style of: to make something after a model; fashioned after Raphael.
6. in pursuit or search of; with or in desire for: I'm after a better job. Run after him!
7. concerning; about: to inquire after a person.
8. with the name of; for: He was named after his uncle.
9. in proportion to; in accordance with: He was a man after the hopes and expectations of his father.
10. according to the nature of; in conformity with; in agreement or unison with: He was a man after my own heart. He swore after the manner of his faith.
11. subsequent to and notwithstanding; in spite of: After all their troubles, they still manage to be optimistic.
–adverb
12. behind; in the rear: Jill came tumbling after.
13. later in time; afterward: three hours after; happily ever after.
–adjective
14. later in time; next; subsequent; succeeding: In after years we never heard from him.
15. Nautical, Aeronautics.
a. farther aft.
b. located closest to the stern or tail; aftermost: after hold; after mast.
c. including the stern or tail: the after part of a hull.
–conjunction
16. subsequent to the time that: after the boys left.
–noun
17. afters, British Informal. the final course of a meal, as pudding, ice cream, or the like; dessert.
—Idiom
18. after all, despite what has occurred or been assumed previously; nevertheless: I've discovered I can attend the meeting after all.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE æfter; c. OFris efter, OS, OHG after, Goth aftaro, ON eptir; equiv. to æf- (see aft ) + -ter suffix of comparison and polarity (c. Gk -teros)

Synonyms:
1. See behind.

all

  [awl]
–adjective
1. the whole of (used in referring to quantity, extent, or duration): all the cake; all the way; all year.
2. the whole number of (used in referring to individuals or particulars, taken collectively): all students.
3. the greatest possible (used in referring to quality or degree): with all due respect; with all speed.
4. every: all kinds; all sorts.
5. any; any whatever: beyond all doubt.
6. nothing but; only: The coat is all wool.
7. dominated by or as if by the conspicuous possession or use of a particular feature: The colt was all legs. They were all ears, listening attentively to everything she said.
8. Chiefly Pennsylvania German. all gone; consumed; finished: The pie is all.
–pronoun
9. the whole quantity or amount: He ate all of the peanuts. All are gone.
10. the whole number; every one: all of us.
11. everything: Is that all you want to say? All is lost.
–noun
12. one's whole interest, energy, or property: to give one's all; to lose one's all.
13. (often initial capital letter) the entire universe.
–adverb
14. wholly; entirely; completely: all alone.
15. only; exclusively: He spent his income all on pleasure.
16. each; apiece: The score was one all.
17. Archaic. even; just.
—Idioms
18. above all, before everything else; chiefly: Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.
19. after all, in spite of the circumstances; notwithstanding: He came in time after all.
20. all at once. once (def. 14).
21. all but, almost; very nearly: These batteries are all but dead.
22. all in, Northern and Western U.S. very tired; exhausted: We were all in at the end of the day.
23. all in all,
a. everything considered; in general: All in all, her health is greatly improved.
b. altogether: There were twelve absentees all in all.
c. everything; everything regarded as important: Painting became his all in all.
24. all in hand, Printing, Journalism. (of the copy for typesetting a particular article, book, issue, etc.) in the possession of the compositor.
25. all in the wind, Nautical. too close to the wind.
26. all out, with all available means or effort: We went all out to win the war.
27. all over,
a. finished; done; ended.
b. everywhere; in every part.
c. in every respect; typically.
28. all standing, Nautical.
a. in such a way and so suddenly that sails or engines are still set to propel a vessel forward: The ship ran aground all standing.
b. fully clothed: The crew turned in all standing.
c. fully equipped, as a vessel.
29. all that, remarkably; entirely; decidedly (used in negative constructions): It's not all that different from your other house.
30. all the better, more advantageous; so much the better: If the sun shines it will be all the better for our trip.
31. all there, Informal. mentally competent; not insane or feeble-minded: Some of his farfetched ideas made us suspect that he wasn't all there.
32. all the same. same (def. 9).
33. all told. told (def. 2).
34. all up,
a. Printing, Journalism. (of copy) completely set in type.
b. Informal. with no vestige of hope remaining: It's all up with George—they've caught him.
35. and all, together with every other associated or connected attribute, object, or circumstance: What with the snow and all, we may be a little late.
36. at all,
a. in the slightest degree: I wasn't surprised at all.
b. for any reason: Why bother at all?
c. in any way: no offense at all.
37. for all (that), in spite of; notwithstanding: For all that, it was a good year.
38. in all, all included; all together: a hundred guests in all.
39. once and for all, for the last time; finally: The case was settled once and for all when the appeal was denied.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME al, pl. alle; OE eal(l); c. Goth alls, ON allr, OFris, D, MLG al, OS, OHG al(l) (G all); if < *ol-no-, equiv. to Welsh oll and akin to OIr uile < *ol-io-; cf. almighty

Synonyms:
2. every one of, each of. 14. totally, utterly, fully.

Usage note:
Expressions like all the farther and all the higher occur chiefly in informal speech: This is all the farther the bus goes. That's all the higher she can jump. Elsewhere as far as and as high as are generally used: This is as far as the bus goes. That's as high as she can jump.
Although some object to the inclusion of of in such phrases as all of the students and all of the contracts and prefer to omit it, the construction is entirely standard.
See also already, alright, altogether.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To after all
af·ter   (āf'tər)   
prep.  

    1. Behind in place or order: Z comes after Y in the alphabet.

    2. Next to or lower than in order or importance.

  2. In quest or pursuit of: seek after fame; go after big money.

  3. Concerning: asked after you.

  4. Subsequent in time to; at a later time than: come after dinner.

  5. Subsequent to and because of or regardless of: They are still friends after all their differences.

  6. Following continually: year after year.

  7. In the style of or in imitation of: satires after Horace.

  8. With the same or close to the same name as; in honor or commemoration of: named after her mother.

  9. According to the nature or desires of; in conformity to: a tenor after my own heart.

  10. Past the hour of: five minutes after three.

  11. Irish Used with a present participle to indicate action that has just been completed: "Sure I'm after seeing him not five minutes ago" (James Joyce).

adv.  

  1. Behind; in the rear.

  2. At a later or subsequent time; afterward: three hours after; departed shortly after.

adj.  

  1. Subsequent in time or place; later; following: in after years.

  2. Located near the stern of a vessel or the rear or an aircraft or spacecraft.

conj.  Following or subsequent to the time that: I saw them after I arrived.
n.  

  1. Afternoon.

  2. afters Chiefly British Dessert.


[Middle English, from Old English æfter; see apo- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

after 
O.E. æfter "after, next, following in time," from O.E. of "off" (see apo-) + -ter a comparative suffix; thus originally meaning "more away, farther off." After hours "after regular working hours" is from 1861. Afterglow first attested 1873; aftershock is from 1894; after-life first recorded 1593; afterthought is from 1661. A combination that ought to have survived is after-wit "wisdom that comes too late" (1579).

all 
O.E. eall "all, every, entire," from P.Gmc. *alnaz (cf. O.Fris., O.H.G. al, O.N. allr, Goth. alls), with no certain connection outside Gmc. All-fired (1837) is U.S. slang euphemism for hell-fired. First record of all out "to one's full powers" is 1880. At all (c.1350) was formerly only in the affirmative, recently usually negative except in literary attempts at Irish dialect. All-star (adj.) is from 1889; all-American is from 1888, with ref. to baseball teams composed of the best players from the U.S. All-terrain vehicle first recorded 1970. All clear as a signal of "no danger" is recorded from 1902. All right, indicative of approval, is attested from 1953.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ALL
Function: abbreviation
acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

after all

  1. Despite everything, nevertheless, as in The plane took off half an hour late but landed on time after all.

  2. After everything else has been considered, ultimately, as in Mary has final approval of the guest list; after all, it's her wedding. The two usages are pronounced differently, the first giving stress to the word after and the second to the word all. Both date from the early 1700s. Also see when all is said and done.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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