/ˈɛv.(ə.)ɹi/
OriginInherited from Middle English every, everich, eaver-euch, averiche, aver alche, ever ælche, from Old English ǣfre ǣlċ, ǣfre ǣġhwelċ (“each and every”). By surface analysis, ever + each or ever + which.
- All of a countable group (considered individually), without exception.
“Every person in the room stood and cheered.”
“She watches my every move.”
“At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.[…]In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its ”
- Denotes equal spacing at a stated interval, or a proportion corresponding to such a spacing.
“We stopped for refreshments every ten miles.”
“The alarm is going off every few minutes.”
“Every third bead was red, and the rest were blue. The sequence was thus red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue etc.”
- Denotes an abundance of something.
“We wish you every happiness in the future.”
“He shows every sign of becoming an excellent player. I have every confidence in him.”
“There is every reason why we shouldn't.”
Formsev'ry(alternative, poetic) · ivery(alternative, obsolete) · euery(alternative, obsolete) · e'ry(alternative, colloquial)