beat all

Idioms

Surpass anything, especially in a strange or amazing way, as in Adam and his cousin Eve eloped—doesn't that beat all! This phrase appears to have replaced beat the Dutch. It is often used in a negative construction, as in the example. [Slang; first half of 1800s] Also see to beat the band.

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.

"If you want to go and win the World Cup, you expect to beat all the sides you play."

From Barron's

The Gunners beat all of the newly-promoted clubs last season but have found it difficult to break down teams who defend in a low block, which is where Gyokeres' goalscoring ability could play a big part as Arsenal's title challenge gets to the final stages.

From BBC

“It’s me, Aunt Pretty. Doesn’t that beat all!”

From Literature

“We wanted to know that whomever we picked beat all comers,” Gorman said.

From Los Angeles Times

The earnings beat all boils down to the artificial-intelligence boom, which has driven up demand for data and hard drives.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023