All but 75 of the governor’s 500 auxiliary police deserted.

[meliss]

Hi, there are two options of the meaning of "all but": "all except" or "nearly, almost", and which one should I choose here?

All but 75 of the governor’s 500 auxiliary police deserted.
Source: The American War in Afghanistan by Carter Malkasian

 

[5jj]

It means only 'all except'. What made you think it could have the other meaning?

 

[meliss]

It means only 'all except'. What made you think it could have the other meaning?

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/all-but

 

[Barque]

The term's parsed differently in each case.

1. All but meaning All except: All of them, but...
Here, but means except.

2. All but meaning Almost: Here it's a set phrase, meant to be read together.

which one should I choose here?

It would be better to put the sentence you're asking about in your post, to make it easier to quote.

In your sentence, it means "all except".

The "almost" meaning is used when "all but" is accompanied by an adjective, as in the examples you linked to in post #3.
...all but forgotten.
...all but gone.

 

[emsr2d2]

It would be better to put the sentence you're asking about in your post, to make it easier to quote.

I have added the full sentence to the body of post #1. @meliss - Your title should include as much of the sentence you're asking about as possible. Your post should include the full sentence.