after all

1. 1.

   emphasizes something to be considered

   “after all, she is your boss, so invite her”

   “he is, after all, our president”
2. 2.

   in spite of expectations

   “came to the party after all”

   “it didn't rain after all”

Questions about after all

What does after all mean?

after all means "emphasizes something to be considered". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

Is after all a common word?

after all is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.