all comers

Everyone who arrives, volunteers, etc

as…as they come

To the greatest extent possible

as it comes

However it is made, in any way whatsoever

come about

1. To happen
2. To turn to face the opposite way (nautical)

come across

1. To find (a specific thing) esp during a general search
2. To make an impression
3. To give or supply (often with with)
4. (of a woman) to be responsive to sexual advances (slang)

come again? (informal)

1. What did you say?
2. Pardon?

come along

1. To progress
2. To arrive
3. (in imperative) hurry up

come and go

1. To fluctuate
2. To have freedom of movement or action

come apart

To fall to pieces

come at

1. To reach
2. To attack
3. To approach

come away

1. To leave
2. To become detached

come back

1. To return to popularity, office, etc after being in a losing position, a period of obscurity, etc
2. To return to life
3. To become fashionable again
4. To return to memory
5. To retort (esp N American)

come before

To appear in response to a summons by (a figure of authority) to be dealt with

come between

1. To cause a rift between (two people, etc)
2. To create a barrier or division between

come by

1. To come near
2. To pass by
3. (as a command to sheepdogs) move to the left of the group of sheep being herded
4. To visit (esp N American)
5. To obtain or acquire
6. To come in

come down

1. To descend
2. To be reduced, to decrease
3. To lose (esp financial) status
4. To emerge from the state induced by a hallucinogenic or addictive drug
5. To leave university, esp Oxford or Cambridge
6. (with to) to be a question of
7. To be an inheritance

come down (up)on

To be severe with, to punish

come down with

To become ill with or contract (a disease)

come for

1. To arrive in order to collect
2. To attack

come forward

To identify or present oneself (as a volunteer, as a witness, etc)

come from

To originate from or in

come high or low

To cost much or little

come home

1. To return to one's house
2. To touch one's interest or feelings closely, to affect (with to)
3. (of an anchor) to drag or slip through the ground (nautical)

come in

1. To enter
2. To arrive
3. To receive (money, income, etc)
4. To have a role or function
5. To become fashionable
6. To reply to a radio signal or call
7. (of the tide) to rise
8. To start an innings (cricket)
9. To get within the opponent's guard (fencing)

come in for

1. To receive as, or as if as, one's share
2. To receive incidentally

come in on

To become a partner, etc in (eg a business venture)

come into

1. To inherit
2. To be involved in
3. (of plants) to begin producing (flowers, leaves, etc)

come into one's own

To have the opportunity to demonstrate or practise one's special skills, aptitudes, etc

come it strong (informal)

To do or say much, go to great lengths, exaggerate

come of

1. To be a descendant of
2. To be the consequence of, arise or result from
3. To become of

come of age

To reach full legal adult status

come off

1. To come away
2. To become detached (from)
3. To obtain a specified type of result (with best, worst, etc)
4. To desist from
5. To prove successful
6. To have an orgasm (vulgar sl)

come off it! (informal)

Don't be ridiculous!

come on

1. To advance
2. To thrive, succeed
3. To proceed
4. To begin
5. To appear
6. To give the impression of being (informal)
7. Often in imperative as a challenge or exhortation to attack, proceed, hurry, recover from low spirits, etc

come on stream

(of oil-wells) to start regular production (also figurative)

come on strong (informal)

To speak or act forcefully or aggressively

come on to (informal)

To make sexual advances towards

come out

1. To emerge
2. To appear
3. To result (well, etc)
4. To be published or made available
5. To become known or evident
6. To be solved
7. To enter society
8. To be released or leave (prison, hospital, etc)
9. To declare openly one's homosexuality (slang)
10. (of photographs) to develop successfully
11. (of stains, marks, etc) to be removed
12. To erupt (in spots, a rash, etc)
13. To stop work, strike
14. To declare oneself (against or in favour of)

come out with

1. To utter, to say
2. To exclaim

come over

1. To befall
2. To change sides or allegiance
3. To come into the mind of
4. To make an impression (with as)
5. Suddenly to experience a certain feeling or mood (as in come over faint; informal)

come round

1. To come by a circuitous path
2. To visit
3. To happen in due course
4. To recur
5. To veer
6. To become favourable (in opinion, etc)
7. To become amenable
8. To recover consciousness from a faint, etc

come short

To fail

come short of

To fail to attain

come through

1. To survive
2. To succeed or complete successfully (an exam, test, etc)
3. To arrive, having passed through a (usu administrative) process or system
4. To pass through

come through for

To be a source of help for

come to

1. To obtain
2. To amount to
3. To be a question of
4. To proceed as far as
5. To recover consciousness
6. To stop (nautical)

come to grief

To meet with disaster or failure

come to oneself

To return to one's normal state of mind

come to pass (esp Bible)

To happen

come to rest

To halt

come to stay

To become permanent

come to that

In actual fact, that being the case

come true

To be fulfilled, to happen

come under

1. To be included under
2. To be subjected to (fire, attack, etc)

come undone or unfastened, etc

To become detached, loose, etc

come up

1. To present itself in discussion, etc
2. To appear
3. To shine after cleaning or polishing

come up against

To encounter (an obstacle, difficulty)

come up to

1. To reach (a specified point in space or time)
2. To equal

come upon

1. To attack
2. To affect
3. To hold answerable
4. To meet
5. To find

come up with

To suggest

come what may

Whatever happens

give someone the come-on

To invite or entice, esp sexually

have it coming (informal)

To have no chance of avoiding, or to get, one's just deserts

how come?

How does it happen that?

not know if one is coming or going

To be totally confused, perplexed or disorientated

to come

Future

up and coming

1. Approaching
2. Promising

when it comes to

As far as, regarding

all /öl/

adjective

1. Comprising every individual one (eg all men, all roads, all instances)
2. Comprising the whole extent, etc of (eg all winter)
3. Any whatever
4. (preceding ‘the’) as many as there are, or as much as there is (eg all the men, all the cheese)
5. Also used following pl pers pronoun or sometimes n pl (eg we all laughed, the guests all came)
6. The greatest possible (eg with all haste, in all sincerity)
7. Every

noun

1. The whole
2. Everybody
3. Everything
4. The totality of things
5. The universe
6. One's whole possessions or utmost efforts (formerly often in pl)

adverb

1. Wholly
2. Entirely
3. Quite or completely
4. Without limit, infinitely
5. On all sides
6. On each side, apiece
7. Even or just (passing into a mere intensive, eg all on a summer's day, or almost into a conjunction by omission of if or though)

combining form

1. Denoting infinite, infinitely
2. Universal
3. Completely
4. Wholly
5. By all
6. Having all for object

allˈness noun

The condition of being all

Possible compounds are without limit and only a selection can be given:

allˈ-Amerˈican adjective

1. Representative of the whole of America, esp in some admirable quality
2. Typically American (in behaviour, appearance, etc)
3. Chosen to represent the United States
4. Consisting entirely of US or American members

All Blacks plural noun

The New Zealand international rugby team

allˈ-building adjective (Shakespeare)

Poss on which all is built, but prob a misprint

all-changˈing-word noun

A spell that transforms everything

all-cheerˈing adjective

Giving cheerfulness to all

allˈ-clearˈ noun

A signal that the reason for sheltering, or (figurative) for inactivity, is past

allˈcomers plural noun

Everyone who arrives or is present

allˈ-day adjective

Lasting all day

all-dreadˈed adjective

Dreaded by all

allˈ-elecˈtric adjective

Using only electricity for heating and lighting

allˈ-embracing adjective

Encompassing everything

all-endˈing adjective

Allˈ-father noun

1. Woden
2. Zeus
3. God

allˈ-fired adjective (informal, orig US)

(as an intensifier) infernal (perh for hell-fired)

allˈ-firedly adverb

all-fivesˈ noun

A game of dominoes in which the aim is to make the end pips sum a multiple of five

All Fools' Day noun

April Fools' Day, 1 April

all-foursˈ noun

A card game in which there are four chances that score a point (see also four)

all-givˈer noun (Milton)

The giver of all, God

allˈ-good noun

The plant good-King-Henry

all-goodˈ adjective

Infinitely good

all-hailˈ interjection (archaic)

A greeting (literally, all health)

noun (archaic)

A salutation of ‘All hail’

transitive verb (archaic)

To greet with ‘All hail’

All-hallˈowmass noun

The feast of All Saints

allˈhallˈown, allˈhallˈowen, allˈhollˈown or allˈhallˈond adjective (orig genitive pl of noun; obsolete)

(Shakespeare al-hallown summer a spell of fine weather about All Hallows)

All Hallˈows Day noun

All Saints' Day, 1 November

All-hallˈowtide noun

The season of All Hallows

allˈheal noun

1. A panacea (obsolete)
2. The great valerian or other plant thought to have healing properties, eg self-heal

all-hidˈ noun (archaic)

Hide-and-seek

all-importˈant adjective

1. Essential
2. Crucial

all-inˈ adjective

1. Including everything (also all-incluˈsive; see also all in below)
2. (of a school, etc) comprehensive
3. (of wrestling) freestyle, with no restrictions on holds

allˈ-in-oneˈ adjective and noun

(something) combining two or more functions in a single item

allˈnight adjective

Lasting, open, etc all night

allnightˈer noun

Any event, activity, party, etc that lasts all night

all-obeyˈing adjective (Shakespeare)

Obeyed by all

allˈ-or-nothˈing or allˈ-or-noneˈ adjective

That must be gained, accepted, etc completely or not at all

allˈ-out adjective

1. Using maximum effort
2. (of a strike) with everyone participating

allˈ-ovˈer adjective

Over the entire surface, body, etc

all-ōˈverish adjective (informal)

Having an indefinite sense of indisposition, discomfort, or malaise

all-ōˈverishness noun (informal).

all-parˈty adjective

Involving all the parties to a dispute, political action, etc

allˈ-pervading adjective

Spreading or filtering through the whole of

allˈ-play-allˈ adjective

Of a competition, in which every competitor plays against every other in turn

allˈ-points bulletin noun (N American)

A report giving details of a wanted person, crime, etc issued by one police station and transmitted to all others in the region or state

all-powˈerful adjective

1. Supremely powerful
2. Omnipotent

all'-prōˈ noun (American football)

A player who has been selected to a team consisting of the best professional players in each playing position (also adjective)

all-purˈpose adjective

That can be used for any purpose, in any circumstances, etc

all-redˈ adjective (obsolete)

Exclusively on British territory (from the conventional colouring of maps)

all-risksˈ adjective

(of insurance) covering all risks except a number specifically excluded (eg war risks)

allˈ-round adjective

1. Including, applying to all (also adverb)
2. Adequate, complete, or competent on all sides

all-round camera noun

A camera able to make a strip picture of the whole periphery of an object revolved before it

all-roundˈer noun

1. Someone who shows ability in many sports or many aspects of a particular sport, esp a cricket player who can both bat and bowl
2. Someone who shows an ability in or who has an involvement in many kinds of work, etc (also adjective)

all-roundˈness noun

all-rulˈing adjective

All Saints' Day noun

1 November, a Christian festival in honour of the saints collectively

allˈ-seatˈer noun

A venue at which standing is not permitted or possible (also adjective)

allˈseed noun

A weed (genus Radiola) of the flax family, or other many-seeded plant

all-seeˈing adjective

all-sēˈer noun (Shakespeare)

One who sees all, ie God

allˈsorts plural noun

Things of various odd shapes, sizes, colours, etc (also figurative)

All Souls' Day noun (RC)

2 November, a day of prayer for souls in Purgatory

allˈspice noun

Pimento or Jamaica pepper, supposed to combine the flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (see also calycanthus under calyx)

allˈ-starˈ adjective

Having a cast or team all of whom are stars

all-tellˈing adjective (Shakespeare)

Revealing all

allˈ-terrain adjective

(of vehicles) designed for use on rough terrain

allˈ-thing adverb (Shakespeare)

Every way

allˈ-tickˈet adjective

(of an event) for which tickets must be obtained in advance

allˈ-time adjective

Of all time to date

all-time high or all-time low noun

A high or low level never before reached

all-time record noun

A record exceeding all others in all times

allˈ-up noun and adjective

(of loaded aircraft) total (weight)

all-up service noun (old)

A service carrying first-class mail by air at regular postage rates

allˈ-weather adjective

1. Capable of use in all kinds of weather
2. Weatherproof

all-wheel drive noun

A type of four-wheel drive in which each wheel can rotate at a different speed

allˈ-wheel-driveˈ adjective

all-wingˈ aeroplane noun

An aeroplane with no fuselage, the cabin being in the wings

allˈ-work noun

All kinds of work (esp domestic)

after all

1. When everything has been considered
2. In spite of all that
3. Nevertheless

all along

1. Everywhere along
2. All the time

all and some (obsolete)

One and all

all at once

Suddenly

all but

Everything short of, almost

all for (informal)

Strongly in favour of

all found

(usu of a price) all in, with everything included

all in

1. Exhausted
2. Everything included

all in all

1. All things considered, all or everything together
2. Something which someone is wholly wrapped up in

all of (informal)

1. As long or as far, etc as
2. The whole distance, time, etc of

all out

1. At full power or speed
2. Completely exhausted

all over

1. Everywhere
2. Over the whole of
3. Covered with (informal)
4. Thoroughly, entirely
5. Very characteristically
6. Excessively attentive towards

all over the place

All awry, or in a disorganized muddle

all over with

Finished, done with, completely at an end with

all right

1. Unhurt, safe
2. Adequate, suitable
3. Acceptable (also US inf all-right)
4. Yes, fine, ok
5. You can be sure of that!
6. (also a bit of all right) very good, or esp of a young woman, very attractive (slang)

all-singing, all-dancing (informal)

Incorporating a full range of features and elaborations

all's one

It is just the same

all square

1. (of debts, etc) settled
2. (in games) having equal scores

all systems go

Everything (is) in working order, starting up, etc (also figurative)

all that

(usu after a negative or a question) so, especially, as … as all that

all the best

A phrase used to wish someone good luck, etc

all there

1. Completely sane
2. Of normal intelligence, not stupid (informal)
3. Alert

all the same see under same

all the way

1. Completely, as in I'm with you all the way
2. A euphemistic expression for full sexual intercourse, as in go all the way (with someone)

all told

1. Including every person, thing, etc
2. Taking everything into account

all to one (obsolete)

Altogether

all up with

1. At an end with
2. Beyond any hope for

and all

As well as the rest

and all that

And all the rest of it, et cetera

as all that

To that extent

at all

1. In the least degree
2. In any way
3. In any circumstances
4. Used also merely to give emphasis

be all over someone

To be excessively and sometimes irritatingly friendly and attentive to someone

be all things to all men

1. To alter one's approach, behaviour, attitude, etc to suit the person one is dealing with
2. To be (usu excessively) affable

for all

Notwithstanding

for good and all

Finally

in all

1. All told
2. In total

once and for all

Once and once only, finally

when all is said and done

1. After all
2. All things considered