play illustration of a man watching a washing machine overflow
Commonly Confused

'All over sudden' vs. 'All of a sudden'

We'll help you figure it out at once


Is the correct phrase 'all over sudden' or 'all of a sudden'? Senior Editor Emily Brewster explains.

Transcript

Sometimes a word that sounds like the right word and feels like the right word isn't actually the right word. It's an eggcorn. Something that happens sooner than expected doesn't happen "all over sudden," it happens "all of a sudden." Sudden here is an obsolete noun meaning an unexpected occurrence.

Up next

play videos pictures in the dictionary
Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

play video soup vs soop
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

play video mischievous nulcear library mispronunciations
'Mispronunciations' That May Be Fine

 

'Mischievous,' 'nuclear,' and other words to pronounce with caution.