all-Amer·i·can
ˌȯl-ə-ˈmer-ə-kən 
-ˈme-rə-
1
a
or less commonly all-America
ˌȯl-ə-ˈmer-ə-kə
: selected (as by a poll of journalists) as one of the best in the U.S. in a particular category at a particular time
-ˈme-rə-
an all-American quarterback
b
: having only all-American participants
an all-American basketball team
2
: composed wholly of American elements
3
: representative or typical of the U.S. or its ideals
an all-American boy
her all-American optimism
4
: of or relating to the American nations as a group
1
or less commonly all-America
: one (such as an athlete) that is voted all-American
2
: one that has all-American qualities or characteristics
a clean-cut all-American
Examples of all-American in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
No such thing as an all-American car Depending on how the tariffs are imposed, price increases could hit cars built at American auto plants, all of which have Canadian and Mexican parts that can not easily be replaced.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 19 Feb. 2025
oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023
As in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), a young man descends into a twilight zone behind an explicitly all-American façade.
—Ed Park, The New York Review of Books, 14 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for all-American
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Adjective
The invention of orange chicken is an all-American origin story.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
No such thing as an all-American car Depending on how the tariffs are imposed, price increases could hit cars built at American auto plants, all of which have Canadian and Mexican parts that can not easily be replaced.
—Chris Isidore, CNN, 19 Feb. 2025
Noun
Cole recalled this time as a stab at conventional all-American life – at least on the surface.
—oregonlive, 23 Mar. 2023
As in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), a young man descends into a twilight zone behind an explicitly all-American façade.
—Ed Park, The New York Review of Books, 14 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for all-American
Cite this Entry
“All-American.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/all-American. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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