all hands

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Every person in a crew, team or organization, all of them together.

   Grammar: Plural: all hands were present; often in the fixed phrase all hands on deck.

   Patterns

   • all hands on deck
   • call all hands

   The captain called all hands to the main deck before the storm.

   With the deadline tomorrow, it was all hands in the office.

   All hands are needed to move the equipment before it rains.

2. 2nouncountablebusiness

   A meeting attended by the whole staff of a company or team, usually to share news.

   Grammar: Often used before a noun like meeting: an all-hands meeting; informally, the all hands.

   Patterns

   • an all-hands meeting
   • attend the all hands

   The CEO announced the merger at Friday's all hands.

   There is an all-hands meeting at ten on Monday.

   The company records every all hands so remote staff can watch later.

Common combinations

all hands on deck

It's all hands on deck until the launch is over.

all-hands meeting

An all-hands meeting is planned for next week.

call all hands

The chief called all hands to the engine room.

all hands present

All hands were present for the safety drill.

lost with all hands

The ship was lost with all hands in the storm.

Synonyms and how they differ

everyone

Everyone is plain and general, while all hands suggests a team being asked to help or to gather.

the whole crew

The whole crew keeps the nautical flavor but is literal rather than idiomatic.

company-wide meeting

Company-wide meeting is a neutral description of the all-hands event.

staff meeting

Staff meeting can be for a small team, while an all hands covers the entire organization.

Word family

hand noun

a worker or crew member

deckhand noun

a member of a ship's working crew

farmhand noun

a worker on a farm

crew noun

the group of people who work on a ship or aircraft

Commonly confused: all hands or all hands vs. all hands on deck?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “all hands”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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