All the best meaning: good luck, and goodbye
All the best is short for "I wish you all the best". In three words it wishes someone luck and says goodbye. It's a warm sign-off for someone you know, and the natural way to end your last email before you leave a job.
Last updated
Today is my last day at the agency. All the best, and please keep the plant alive.
What did they mean?
Filed under A jargon.
Good luck and goodbye in three words
The wish behind the phrase
All the best sends someone good wishes, and it often says goodbye at the same time. Keep it for colleagues and clients you know.
At a farewell party, “All the best with the new job” is a complete sentence.
All the best against best regards
Best regards is a polite close for today’s email. All the best wishes someone luck with whatever comes next, so it fits a goodbye better. Our jargon dictionary has the other sign-offs too, from the stiff ones to the chatty ones.
| Sign-off | How it compares |
|---|---|
| Warm regards | Close in feeling, with no hint of an ending |
| Best wishes | Means nearly the same |
| Best of luck | Hints that something difficult is coming |
| Cheers | The casual version |
| Regards | The one you’d send the supplier |
Where all the best fits
The last email before you go
When you leave a job, all the best is the usual sign-off on the goodbye email, above your first name and nothing else. The email itself needs the date of your last day, a thank-you, where the handover notes are, and a personal email address.
Send it on the afternoon of the last day, after the handover and before the drinks.
Seventh in the friendliness vote
UK workers picked the ten friendliest sign-offs, and all the best was seventh. Warm regards came one place higher, and best regards two places lower.
The Navy’s choice for everyone else
The US Navy’s correspondence manual matches the closing on a personal letter from headquarters to the reader. Anyone its list doesn’t name can be sent all the best, or sincerely.
| Letter to | Closing |
|---|---|
| Senior flag officers | Very respectfully, the long form of V/R |
| Someone you’re sending condolences to | Warm regards |
| Senators | “Sincerely yours” |
| “All others” | Sincerely or all the best |
When all the best means more than goodbye
The goodbye nobody announced
Between people who write every week, a sudden all the best can mean someone is leaving. When “speak soon” turns into all the best, check whether the reorg has started without you.
All the best to a client
Account managers sign off with all the best when handing a client to a colleague. The client reads it twice to work out who got the blame.
All the best at the end of a long thread
After forty replies, all the best means the writer has stopped arguing. It’s the polite email version of hanging up.
All the best on a rejection
A rejection email ends by wishing you all the best in your search. It’s the warmest sentence in the email, and the one telling you to look elsewhere.
All the best in a leaving card
On a farewell card, all the best is the safe line for someone you barely know.
Dana’s last-day email
Subject: Last day
Hi all, today is my last day in the London office. Thank you for six years of help, cake and patience with my spreadsheets. The handover notes are in the shared drive under “Leaving”.
All the bestGood luck with my spreadsheets, Dana
All the best in a sentence
Today is my last day at the agency. All the best, and please keep the plant alive.
Thanks for interviewing, Ola. We've gone with another candidate. All the best with your search.
Have a great trip to Porto, Femi. All the best to you and the kids.
If you'd rather use another supplier, that's your call. All the best, Renata.
Questions about all the best
When should I say "All the Best"?
When you want to wish someone well beyond today. A goodbye email, a colleague's farewell card and the end of a project or a contract all suit it. It works better for people you know than for strangers.
What can I say instead of "all the best"?
Best wishes, warm regards, good luck with everything, or take care. "Speak soon" is better if you'll be working with them again, because it doesn't sound like goodbye.
Why do we say "all the best"?
It's a shortened wish. The full sentence is "I wish you all the best", or "all the best of luck". Over time people dropped "I wish you" and kept the rest.
What's another word for all the best?
Good luck is the closest. Best wishes and best of luck mean nearly the same, and in British English "best of British" does too.
Is all the best the same as best of luck?
Close, but best of luck wishes someone success with something hard, like an exam or a move abroad. All the best is a general good wish that also says goodbye, so it fits the end of an email better.