all but

adverb

Synonyms of all butnext
: very nearly : almost
would be all but impossible

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of all but in a Sentence

Without you the job would have been all but impossible. We had all but given up hope.

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of all but was in 1590

Dictionary Entries Near all but

all bets are off

all but

all but certain to

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“All but.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all%20but. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

all but

adverb
: very nearly : almost
would be all but impossible

More from Merriam-Webster on all but

Nglish: Translation of all but for Spanish Speakers

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...