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Meaning & use

all together

adverb·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˌɔːl təˈɡeðə/
US/ˌɔl təˈɡeðɚ/

Meanings

  1. adverbnot comparable

    With everyone or everything in one group or place at the same moment.

    Grammar: Written as two words; follows the verb or subject: we stood all together.

    Patterns

    • be all together
    • sing all together

    The whole family was all together for the first time in years.

    The books were piled all together on the shelf.

    Let's sing the chorus all together.

  2. adverbnot comparableinformal

    At the same time and in unison, as a group acting as one.

    Grammar: Often used in instructions: all together now.

    Patterns

    • all together now

    Okay everyone, lift all together on three.

    The crowd cheered all together when the lights came on.

    They answered all together, which made the teacher laugh.

Common combinations

all together now
All together now, one, two, three!
sing all together
The children sang all together at the end.
stand all together
We stood all together in the cold.
gathered all together
The files were gathered all together in one box.
all together in one place
It is rare to see them all together in one place.

Synonyms and how they differ

together
Together is shorter, and all makes the group feel complete and emphasizes everyone.
as one
As one stresses unity of action, whereas all together can just mean located in one place.
in unison
In unison is for sound or movement happening at the same time, while all together is broader.
collectively
Collectively is formal and describes the group as a whole, not their physical position.

Opposites

separatelyapart

Word family

together adverb
with or near each other
togetherness noun
the feeling of being united
altogether adverb
completely or in total

Commonly confused: all together or all together vs. altogether? all together or all together vs. all-together?

all together vs all together vs. altogether

All together means everyone as a group; altogether means completely or in total. We were all together is not the same as We were altogether wrong.

all together vs all together vs. all-together

Hyphenation is rare and mostly limited to a noun placed before another noun.

Practice

After years apart, the cousins were finally ___ at the wedding.

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