be-all and end-all
Americannoun
noun
-
the ultimate aim or justification
to provide help for others is the be-all and end-all of this group
-
humorous a person or thing considered to be beyond improvement
Etymology
Origin of be-all and end-all
First recorded in 1595–1605
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But California would not prove to be the be-all and end-all for the rapper, who chose to lay down more permanent roots in Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City.
From MarketWatch
But Olympic medal tables do not tell the full story, and are not the be-all and end-all.
From BBC
One woman told the tribunal that Gilbert had been the "golden boy" of his department, and that he was the "be-all and end-all for transplants in Oxford".
From BBC
It's not the be-all and end-all, but it would be another marker the players can look back on.
From BBC
Promotion is the be-all and end-all here, failure to achieve that will mean enduring those dreary 0-0s will have been for nothing.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
