"on all fours" meaning in English

See on all fours in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Audio: En-au-on all fours.ogg [Australia]
Head templates: {{en-adv|-|head=on all fours}} on all fours (not comparable)
  1. (idiomatic) On one's hands and knees. Tags: idiomatic, not-comparable Translations (on hands and knees): lau hankan (Basque), de quatre grapes (Catalan), a quatre grapes (Catalan), 四肢著地 (Chinese Mandarin), 四肢着地 (sìzhī zháodì, sìzhī zhuódì) (Chinese Mandarin), kvargambe (Esperanto), neljakäpakil (Estonian), nelinkontin (Finnish), kontallaan (Finnish), à quatre pattes (French), auf allen vieren (German), στα τέσσερα (sta téssera) (Greek), négykézláb (Hungarian), á fjórum fótum (Icelandic), carponi (Italian), a quattro piedi (Italian), gattoni (Italian), a quattro zampe (Italian), 四つん這いで (yotsunbai de) (Japanese), 四つんばいで (yotsunbai de) (Japanese), quadrupēs (Latin), pekewhā (Maori), på alle fire (Norwegian Bokmål), på alle fire (Norwegian Nynorsk), na czworakach (Polish), raczkiem (Polish), na bałyku [dated, regional] (Polish), de quatro (Portuguese), în patru labe (Romanian), на четвере́ньках (na četverénʹkax) (Russian), на кара́чках (na karáčkax) (Russian), четверо̀ношке̄ [Cyrillic] (Serbo-Croatian), četverònoškē [Roman] (Serbo-Croatian), a cuatro patas (Spanish), a veinte uñas (english: referring to sex position) [vulgar] (Spanish), en cuatro (Spanish), på alla fyra (Swedish), ра́чки (ráčky) (Ukrainian), ра́ком (rákom) (Ukrainian), ра́ка (ráka) (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-on_all_fours-en-adv-iRdZvZCE Disambiguation of 'on hands and knees': 99 1
  2. (idiomatic, often followed by "with") In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently. Tags: idiomatic, not-comparable, often Synonyms: on all-fours Related terms: all fours, quadrupedal, quadrupedally
    Sense id: en-on_all_fours-en-adv-AGwOh51T Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 3 97 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 6 94 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 10 90

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for on all fours meaning in English (7.4kB)

{
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "head": "on all fours"
      },
      "expansion": "on all fours (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1897, Joseph Conrad, chapter 3, in The Nigger Of The ‘Narcissus’",
          "text": "A bulky form was seen rising aft, and began marching on all fours with the movements of some big cautious beast.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1916, Elbert Hubbard, “Johannes Brahms”, in Little Journeys Vol. 14: Great Musicians",
          "text": "He was on all fours, with three children on his back, riding him for a horse.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "On one's hands and knees."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_all_fours-en-adv-iRdZvZCE",
      "links": [
        [
          "hand",
          "hand"
        ],
        [
          "knee",
          "knee"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) On one's hands and knees."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "lau hankan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "de quatre grapes"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "a quatre grapes"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "四肢著地"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "sìzhī zháodì, sìzhī zhuódì",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "四肢着地"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "kvargambe"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "neljakäpakil"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "nelinkontin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "kontallaan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "à quatre pattes"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "auf allen vieren"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "sta téssera",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "στα τέσσερα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "négykézláb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "á fjórum fótum"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "carponi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "a quattro piedi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "gattoni"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "a quattro zampe"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yotsunbai de",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "四つん這いで"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yotsunbai de",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "四つんばいで"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "quadrupēs"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "pekewhā"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "på alle fire"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "på alle fire"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "na czworakach"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "raczkiem"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "tags": [
            "dated",
            "regional"
          ],
          "word": "na bałyku"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "de quatro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "în patru labe"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na četverénʹkax",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "на четвере́ньках"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "na karáčkax",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "на кара́чках"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "четверо̀ношке̄"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "četverònoškē"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "a cuatro patas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "english": "referring to sex position",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "tags": [
            "vulgar"
          ],
          "word": "a veinte uñas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "en cuatro"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "på alla fyra"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ráčky",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "ра́чки"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "rákom",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "ра́ком"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "ráka",
          "sense": "on hands and knees",
          "word": "ра́ка"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "3 97",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 94",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1920, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 21, in Letters of Travel",
          "text": "The new law was precisely on all-fours with the Homestead Act.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_all_fours-en-adv-AGwOh51T",
      "links": [
        [
          "similar",
          "similar"
        ],
        [
          "nature",
          "nature"
        ],
        [
          "effect",
          "effect"
        ],
        [
          "consistently",
          "consistently"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often followed by \"with\") In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by \"with\""
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "31 69",
          "word": "all fours"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "31 69",
          "word": "quadrupedal"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "31 69",
          "word": "quadrupedally"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "36 64",
          "word": "on all-fours"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable",
        "often"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-on all fours.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/18/En-au-on_all_fours.ogg/En-au-on_all_fours.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/En-au-on_all_fours.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on all fours"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English uncomparable adverbs"
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  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-",
        "head": "on all fours"
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      "expansion": "on all fours (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adv"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "all fours"
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    {
      "word": "quadrupedal"
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    {
      "word": "quadrupedally"
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      "categories": [
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        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
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          "ref": "1897, Joseph Conrad, chapter 3, in The Nigger Of The ‘Narcissus’",
          "text": "A bulky form was seen rising aft, and began marching on all fours with the movements of some big cautious beast.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1916, Elbert Hubbard, “Johannes Brahms”, in Little Journeys Vol. 14: Great Musicians",
          "text": "He was on all fours, with three children on his back, riding him for a horse.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "On one's hands and knees."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hand",
          "hand"
        ],
        [
          "knee",
          "knee"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) On one's hands and knees."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
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      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
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          "ref": "1920, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 21, in Letters of Travel",
          "text": "The new law was precisely on all-fours with the Homestead Act.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "similar",
          "similar"
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        [
          "nature",
          "nature"
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        [
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          "effect"
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          "consistently"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, often followed by \"with\") In a manner which is similar in nature or effect to something else; consistently."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "followed by \"with\""
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "not-comparable",
        "often"
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      "tags": [
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "on all-fours"
    }
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "lau hankan"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "de quatre grapes"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "a quatre grapes"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "四肢著地"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "sìzhī zháodì, sìzhī zhuódì",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "四肢着地"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "kvargambe"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "neljakäpakil"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "nelinkontin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "kontallaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "à quatre pattes"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "auf allen vieren"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "sta téssera",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "στα τέσσερα"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "négykézláb"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "á fjórum fótum"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "carponi"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "a quattro piedi"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "gattoni"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "a quattro zampe"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yotsunbai de",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "四つん這いで"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yotsunbai de",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "四つんばいで"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "quadrupēs"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "pekewhā"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "på alle fire"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "på alle fire"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "na czworakach"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "raczkiem"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "regional"
      ],
      "word": "na bałyku"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "de quatro"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "în patru labe"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na četverénʹkax",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "на четвере́ньках"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "na karáčkax",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "на кара́чках"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "четверо̀ношке̄"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "četverònoškē"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "a cuatro patas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "english": "referring to sex position",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "tags": [
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "word": "a veinte uñas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "en cuatro"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "på alla fyra"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ráčky",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "ра́чки"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "rákom",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "ра́ком"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "ráka",
      "sense": "on hands and knees",
      "word": "ра́ка"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on all fours"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (82c8ff9 and f4967a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.