Definition of On all fours

1. Adverb. On hands and knees. "He got down on all fours to play with his grandson"

Definition of On all fours

1. Adjective. (idiomatic) On one's hands and knees. ¹

2. Adjective. (idiomatic often followed by "with") Similar in nature or effect to something else; consistent. ¹

3. Adverb. (idiomatic) On one's hands and knees. ¹

4. Adverb. (idiomatic often followed by "with") In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of On All Fours

on a par with
on a regular basis
on a roll
on a shoestring
on a sixpence
on a stick
on a whim
on a wing and a prayer
on about
on accident
on account
on account of
on acid
on air
on all-fours
on all fours
on an individual basis
on an irregular basis
on and off
on and on
on approval
on average
on background
on balance
on base
on behalf of
on bended knee
on board
on call
on camera

Literary usage of On all fours

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Life of Benvenuto Cellini by Benvenuto Cellini, John Addington Symonds (1889)
"Then I bound my leg up as well as I could, and crawled on all fours with the ... I meanwhile made the best way I could on all fours toward the church of the ..."

2. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"When on all fours his fingers are doubled on the palms of his hands so that he walks on his knuckles." The arms are not so much needed or actually used for ..."

3. China: Its Costume, Arts, Manufactures, &c. by Breton (Jean Baptiste Joseph), Henri-Léonard-Jean-Baptiste Bertin (1813)
"Others again, as in the accompanying representation, make a vow to crawl on all-fours, with a saddle on their backs and bridle in their mouths, ..."

4. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Giving the Derivation, Source, Or Origin of by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1898)
"Та со on all fours is to crawl about on knees and hands like a little child. It dots not go on all fours means it does not suit in every minute particular ..."

5. Notes and Queries by Martim de Albuquerque (1854)
"The front of his knees and elbows bad become hardened, from going on all fours with the wolves. He never spoke articulately, and he showed no affection for ..."

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