all of (something)

1. The entirety of something. Boy, cleaning the kitchen just zapped all of my energy—I need to lie down! Please tell me you didn't blow all of your money on this clearly fake bag. I want a traditional wedding, with the cake, the dress—all of it.

2. Just; only. Luckily, that phone call took all of five minutes, so I wasn't late to the meeting after all. I'm so impressed that Jessica found the files in all of two minutes. She really knows my office better than I do! With the right equipment, I could patch that leak in all of 20 minutes

3. At least. Don't be fooled by his baby face—he's all of 30 years old. I just don't understand why a college student is interested in a professor who's all of 50. Why he is still living with his parents when he's clearly all of 40 years old?

See also: all, of

all of

1. The entire amount of something, as in The baby ate all of his cereal. This usage is relatively new, the word of being included only from about 1800 on.

2. No less than, at least, as in Although she looked much younger, she was all of seventy. [First half of 1800s]

See also: all, of

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

all of

as much as (often used ironically of an amount considered very small by the speaker or writer).

1995 Bill Bryson Notes from a Small Island In 1992 , a development company…tore down five listed buildings, in a conservation area, was taken to court and fined all of £675.

See also: all, of

all of

Informal

Not more than: a conversation that took all of five minutes.

See also: all, of

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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