Meanings
- idiomaticnot comparableUnexpectedly; without warning; all of a sudden.
When all at once I saw a crowd, / A host, of golden daffodils
1815, William Wordsworth, The Daffodils1 more example
I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC - not comparableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: All at the same time; all together.
There are too many to get in the lift all at once, so some must wait.
Synonyms & antonyms
adverball at the same time
adverbsuddenly
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek ἀθρόως, ἀθρόον
- ἀθρόως (athróōs)unexpectedly
- ἀθρόον (athróon)All at the same time, all together
- παμπληθεί (pamplētheí)All at the same time, all together
Catalan de sobte sobtadament, alhora
- de sobte sobtadamentunexpectedly
- alhoraAll at the same time, all together
Czech najednou
- najednouunexpectedly
Dutch plotseling, opeens
- plotselingunexpectedly
- opeensunexpectedly
- ineensunexpectedly
Esperanto subite
- subiteunexpectedly
Finnish yhtäkkiä, kerralla
- yhtäkkiäunexpectedly
- kerrallaAll at the same time, all together
French soudain, tout d'un coup
- soudainunexpectedly
- tout d'un coupunexpectedly
- d'un coup d'un seulunexpectedly
- d'un seul coupAll at the same time, all together
German auf einmal
- auf einmalunexpectedly
Greek μεμιάς
- μεμιάς (memiás)unexpectedly
Hungarian hirtelen, váratlanul
- hirtelenunexpectedly
- váratlanulunexpectedly
- egyszer csakunexpectedly
- egyszerre csakunexpectedly
- (mind/mindenki/mindnyájan) egyszerreAll at the same time, all together
Italian tutto in una volta, d'un tratto
- tutto in una voltaunexpectedly
- d'un trattounexpectedly
- tutto d'un trattounexpectedly
- in un sol colpoAll at the same time, all together
- nello stesso momentoAll at the same time, all together
- in una sola voltaAll at the same time, all together
Japanese 一斉
- 一斉 (issei)unexpectedly
Māori petapeta
- petapetaAll at the same time, all together
Polish znienacka, nagle
- znienackaunexpectedly
- nagleunexpectedly
- ni stąd ni zowądunexpectedly
- wszystko narazAll at the same time, all together
Portuguese do nada, de repente
- do nadaunexpectedly
- de repenteunexpectedly
Romanian brusc, deodată
- bruscunexpectedly
- deodatăunexpectedly
- dintr-o datăunexpectedly
Russian вдруг, внеза́пно
- вдруг (vdrug)unexpectedly
- внеза́пно (vnezápno)unexpectedly
- неожи́данно (neožídanno)unexpectedly
Swedish plötsligen, (helt) plötsligt
- plötsligenunexpectedly
- (helt) plötsligtunexpectedly
- med ensunexpectedly
- på samma gångAll at the same time, all together
Vietnamese trong nháy mắt, trong một nốt nhạc
- trong nháy mắtunexpectedly
- trong một nốt nhạcunexpectedly
- trong tích tắcunexpectedly
Cite this entry
all at once. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20at%20once
“all at once.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20at%20once. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all at once,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20at%20once.
Source: all at once on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.