Search Result for "all along":
Wordnet 3.0

ADVERB (1)

1. all the time or over a period of time;
- Example: "She had known all along"
- Example: "the hope had been there all along"
[syn: all along, right along]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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 word retains its appropriate sense or becomes intensive. [1913 Webster] 2. Even; just. (Often a mere intensive adjunct.) [Obs. or Poet.] [1913 Webster] All as his straying flock he fed. --Spenser. [1913 Webster] A damsel lay deploring All on a rock reclined. --Gay. [1913 Webster] All to, or All-to. In such phrases as "all to rent," "all to break," "all-to frozen," etc., which are of frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb, equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether. But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all (as it does in "all forlorn," and similar expressions), and the to properly belongs to the following word, being a kind of intensive prefix (orig. meaning asunder and answering to the LG. ter-, HG. zer-). It is frequently to be met with in old books, used without the all. Thus Wyclif says, "The vail of the temple was to rent:" and of Judas, "He was hanged and to-burst the middle:" i. e., burst in two, or asunder. All along. See under Along. All and some, individually and collectively, one and all. [Obs.] "Displeased all and some." --Fairfax. All but. (a) Scarcely; not even. [Obs.] --Shak. (b) Almost; nearly. "The fine arts were all but proscribed." --Macaulay. All hollow, entirely, completely; as, to beat any one all hollow. [Low] All one, the same thing in effect; that is, wholly the same thing. All over, over the whole extent; thoroughly; wholly; as, she is her mother all over. [Colloq.] All the better, wholly the better; that is, better by the whole difference. All the same, nevertheless. "There they [certain phenomena] remain rooted all the same, whether we recognize them or not." --J. C. Shairp. "But Rugby is a very nice place all the same." --T. Arnold. -- See also under All, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Along \A*long"\ (?; 115), adv. [OE. along, anlong, AS. andlang, along; pref. and- (akin to OFris. ond-, OHG. ant-, Ger. ent-, Goth. and-, anda-, L. ante, Gr. ?, Skr. anti, over against) + lang long. See Long.] 1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise. [1913 Webster] Some laid along . . . on spokes of wheels are hung. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward. [1913 Webster] We will go along by the king's highway. --Numb. xxi. 22. [1913 Webster] He struck with his o'ertaking wings, And chased us south along. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster] 3. In company; together. [1913 Webster] He to England shall along with you. --Shak. [1913 Webster] All along, all through the course of; during the whole time; throughout. "I have all along declared this to be a neutral paper." --Addison. To get along, to get on; to make progress, as in business. "She 'll get along in heaven better than you or I." --Mrs. Stowe. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

all along adv 1: all the time or over a period of time; "She had known all along"; "the hope had been there all along" [syn: all along, right along]