Meaning & use
know-all
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapprovinginformalBritish
A person who behaves as if they know everything and corrects others, in a way that annoys people.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a know-all' or 'two know-alls'. Often used with 'such a'.
Patterns
- a know-all
- such a know-all
- call someone a know-all
He's such a know-all that nobody wants to work with him.
Don't be a know-all — just listen for once.
The class know-all put his hand up before the teacher finished the question.
Word forms
| plural | know-alls |
|---|
Common combinations
- such a know-all
- She sounded like such a know-all on the phone.
- a bit of a know-all
- My cousin is a bit of a know-all about films.
- call someone a know-all
- If you keep correcting her, she'll call you a know-all.
- the office know-all
- Every office has its own know-all.
Synonyms and how they differ
- know-it-all
- The American equivalent; it carries the same disapproving tone and is more common in the US.
- smart aleck
- Also disapproving, but it stresses cheeky, rude cleverness rather than claiming to know everything.
- pedant
- More formal and narrower: it means someone who is too fussy about small details or rules, not a general show-off.
Word family
Commonly confused: know-all or know-how? know-all or no-all?
know-all vs know-how
Know-how means practical skill or knowledge of how to do something, and it is approving; a know-all is a person, and it is disapproving.
know-all vs no-all
This is not a word. The spelling 'know-all' keeps 'know', even though the vowel sounds like 'no'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'know-all' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Know-all' is a countable noun for a person, so 'He's a real know-all' fits. Option A uses it like an uncountable noun meaning knowledge, which is 'know-how'. Options C and D use it as a verb, but the verb is simply 'know'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “know-all”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.