Meanings
- The four legs of a quadruped.
- The four limbs of a primate.
to be on all fours
- card gamesA card game similar to whist.
'Twas a bad leg allowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and Mark Clark learnt All-Fours in a whitlow.
1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd1 more example
Other games were cribbage, all fours, ruff and honours, French ruff, five cards, costly colours, bon ace, putt, plain dealing, Queen Nazareen, pennech, post and pair, bankafalat, beast.
1882, John Ashton, Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, page 104 - A certain game of dominos.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouncard games in which points are won for taking the high or low or jack or game
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish raajat, raajat
- raajatfour legs of a quadruped
- raajatfour limbs of a primate
Russian четвере́ньки, кара́чки
- четвере́ньки (četverénʹki)four limbs of a primate
- кара́чки (karáčki)four limbs of a primate
Cite this entry
all fours. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20fours
“all fours.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20fours. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “all fours,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/all%20fours.
Source: all fours on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.