All but — All All, adv. 1. Wholly; completely; altogether; entirely; quite; very; as, all bedewed; my friend is all for amusement. And cheeks all pale. Byron. [1913 Webster] Note: In the ancient phrases, all too dear, all too much, all so long, etc., this… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
All but — But But (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be + [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily, b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See {By}, {Out};… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
all but — (something) 1. almost. In some places, bus service has all but disappeared. 2. everyone or everything except those mentioned. All but the weakest plants survived the hot weather … New idioms dictionary
all but — If someone all but does something, they almost do it, but don t manage to … The small dictionary of idiomes
all but — ► all but 1) very nearly. 2) all except. Main Entry: ↑all … English terms dictionary
all but — adverb : very nearly : almost makes travel all but impossible all but fell in love with him marched forward all but unopposed the pain that is all but a pleasure W.S.Gilbert … Useful english dictionary
all but — adverb Very nearly. The food is all but finished. <!Note: Do not add the sense all except , as in all but three of them were left , as it is not a set phrase and its meaning can be derived from all and but Syn: almost, nearly, nigh on … Wiktionary
all but — {adv. phr.} Very nearly; almost. * /Crows all but destroyed a farmer s field of corn./ * /The hikers were exhausted and all but frozen when they were found./ … Dictionary of American idioms
all but — {adv. phr.} Very nearly; almost. * /Crows all but destroyed a farmer s field of corn./ * /The hikers were exhausted and all but frozen when they were found./ … Dictionary of American idioms
all but — adverb Date: 1598 very nearly ; almost < would be all but impossible > … New Collegiate Dictionary