all out
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
By far;—"he was ALL OUT the best of the lot." Old—frequently used by Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “all out” mean?
By far;—"he was ALL OUT the best of the lot." Old—frequently used by Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy.
Is “all out” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.