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View synonyms for

above all

[ uh-buhv awl ]

idiom

  1. most important of all; before everything else; chiefly:

    Above all, the little girl wanted a piano.

    He said that, above all else, he was a dad of two young children.



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Word History and Origins

Origin of above all1

First recorded in 1350–1400
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Idioms and Phrases

More than anything else, as in A winter hike calls for good equipment, but above all it requires careful planning . This phrase first appears in William Langland's Piers Ploughman (1377), in which the narrator exhorts readers to love the Lord God above all. Also see first and last .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

It was a decision that was extremely unpopular with Mourinho and went on to fuel his methods - and fuel, most notably, a desire to put victory above all else.

From

Didion broke barriers, refusing to feel remorse over valuing her career above all else and forging a language that can only be described as Didionesque.

From

It is, “above all, a quest. To understand myself, our family’s collective disease, Indian people’s unparalleled ability to survive, and the history of Indian boarding schools.”

From

They have largely shifted from sites of critical reflection, mutual engagement and vibrant debate into spaces that emphasize entertainment above all else.

From

The Beltran’s apartment encapsulates their design sensibility and “above all, the people we love.”

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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aboveabove and beyond