all-time

IPA/ˈɔːl taɪm/
KK[ˌɔltˈaɪm]IPA/ˈɔːl taɪm/

all-time — adjective

1. Used before words like high, low, best, worst, or record to mean that no other p

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Used before words like high, low, best, worst, or record to mean that no other point in history has reached this level — it is the most extreme example seen up to now.

Example

House prices in Taipei reached an all-time high last summer.

all-time + high for a peak never previously matched

After three losing seasons, the team's morale hit an all-time low.

all-time + low for a worst point on record

Common collocations
  • all-time high
  • all-time low
  • all-time best
  • all-time worst
  • all-time record
  • all-time favourite
  • all-time greatest
  • reach an all-time high
  • hit an all-time low
  • set an all-time record
Synonyms
  • record

    as in 'record high' — very close in meaning but slightly more neutral and statistical.

  • historic

    stresses the moment's place in history rather than ranking the level itself.

  • unprecedented

    more formal; means nothing like it has happened before, without naming a high or low.

Grammar Patterns

all-time + high/low/best/worst/record/favourite

Usage Note

Attributive only — sits before a noun and almost always pairs with a superlative or extreme noun (high, low, best, worst, record, favourite, greatest). You cannot say 'The price is all-time' on its own; the phrase needs the superlative noun to make sense.

Common Mistakes

The temperature was all-time yesterday.
The temperature reached an all-time high yesterday.
all-time must combine with a superlative noun like high, low, or record.
She is all-time my favourite singer.
She is my all-time favourite singer.
the phrase sits directly before the noun it modifies, after the possessive.
Idioms

sink/stoop to a new/an all-time low

idiom

This means to act in the most unacceptable or shameful way possible.

The politician stooped to an all-time low by lying to voters.

Did the show sink to a new low with that cruel joke?

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe levels or moments that stand out across a long span of time, but they sit in different registers. All-time is the everyday choice and almost always pairs with a superlative noun: an all-time high, my all-time favourite. Record is more neutral and statistical — a record harvest, a record turnout — and works well in news reports without emotion. Historic carries weight: it tells the reader the moment will be remembered (a historic vote, a historic peace deal), not just that a number is large. Unprecedented is the most formal and means simply that nothing of this kind has happened before; it does not have to be a high or a low. Compare: 'Sales hit an all-time high' (casual peak), 'Sales reached a record high' (data report), 'It was a historic moment for the company' (memory, not numbers), 'The flooding was unprecedented' (formal, no direction implied).

all-time ↗record ↗historic ↗unprecedented ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • all-time high
  • all-time low
  • all-time record
  • all-time best
  • all-time worst
  • all-time favourite
  • all-time greatest

Phrases

  • reach an all-time high
  • hit an all-time low
  • set an all-time record
  • my all-time favourite

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A 20th-century compound built from the everyday English words 'all' and 'time'. The phrase began appearing in American sports and business writing in the early 1900s, where journalists needed a quick way to say 'the highest (or lowest) figure in the whole history of something'. The hyphenated adjective form spread from that journalistic shorthand into general use, and today it pairs almost exclusively with superlatives such as high, low, best, and favourite.