all in all
All in all (adverb) means taking everything into account; considering the whole situation. Example: “All in all, it was a good year for the club.”
How to use all in all
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishLooking at everything together.
Neutral, slightly informal. Very common at the end of reviews and summaries.
Use it once per piece of writing — repeating a summing-up phrase weakens it.
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
_____, it was a good year for the club.
Synonyms
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between all in all and after all?
All in all introduces a summing-up: weighing everything, here is the verdict. After all signals that something happened contrary to expectation, or offers a reason the listener already knows. They are not interchangeable.
Is all in all hyphenated?
No. As an adverbial phrase it is written as three separate words. You may see the hyphenated all-in-all in older or literary text for the noun sense, but the plain form is standard today.
Can I start a sentence with all in all?
Yes, and that is its most common position, followed by a comma. It works well as an opener for a concluding sentence or paragraph.
What is the meaning of all in all?
"all in all" (adverb) means taking everything into account; considering the whole situation.