all but

Idioms  

1. Almost, nearly, as in I've all but finished the book. This expression was used by Andrew Marvell in “Thoughts in a Garden”: “Society is all but rude, To this delicious solitude.” [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

A source described Plaid's National Commission as "an independence commission in all but name".

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

LIV Golf appears poised to join a long list of ambitious projects it has all but abandoned.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

That sometimes, the thing that makes a dish feel complete isn’t something new at all, but something that’s been sitting in your kitchen the whole time, waiting to be seen a little differently.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

“Once again, stocks are basically expressing their view that the war in the Persian Gulf is all but over,” writes Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

What I saw all but caused me to fall over backwards.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• about
• approximately
• around
• essentially
• most
• much
• practically
• relatively
• roughly
• virtually