Overall means “in general, taking everything into account”; before a noun, it means “total” or “general”. At the start of a sentence, overall sums up what has been said: Overall, the trip was a success. Before a noun, it describes the whole of something: the overall cost.
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Overall, + sentence; the overall + noun; …, but overall + clause
- Overall, the number of international students rose steadily between 2010 and 2020.
- The overall cost of the renovation turned out to be much higher than we had planned.
- There were a few boring moments, but overall I really enjoyed the festival.
What changed
First versionIn overall, sales increased steadily over the period.
RevisionOverall, sales increased steadily over the period.
Phrases with a similar meaning, such as in general, start with a preposition, and that is where in comes from: in overall. But overall already means “in general”, so it never takes a preposition. Simply remove in.
In general and on the whole are close in meaning, and in an essay they can often replace overall. In IELTS Writing Task 1, the general summary of a chart is usually introduced with Overall: Overall, car use fell, while cycling became more popular. In conversation, overall often comes in the middle of a sentence, after but: It rained a lot, but overall we had a great time.
Your turn
___, the chart shows that all age groups spent more time online in 2020 than in 2010.
Show the answer
Overall — The sentence sums up the whole chart: time online rose in every age group. A summary like this is introduced with Overall. After all is used to remind someone of a reason (“don't forget that”), not to summarise data.
Write two sentences about a course, job or trip that you liked, but not in every way. In the first, name a drawback; in the second, start with Overall and give your general opinion.
Our hotel was a long way from the beach. Overall, our week in Crete was relaxing and worth the money.
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