after

adverb

af·ter | \ ˈaf-tər

Definition of after

(Entry 1 of 7)

: following in time or place : afterward, behind, later we arrived shortly after returned 20 years after

after

preposition

Definition of after (Entry 2 of 7)

1a : behind in place people lined up one after another

b(1) : subsequent to in time or order 20 minutes after 6

(2) : subsequent to and in view of after all our advice

2 —used to indicate the object of a stated or implied action go after goldwas asking after you

3 : so as to resemble: such as

a : in accordance with He's a man after my own heart.

b : with the name of or a name derived from that of named after his father

c : in the characteristic manner of : in imitation of writing after the manner of Hemingway

after

conjunction

Definition of after (Entry 3 of 7)

: subsequently to the time when We will come after we make plans.

after

adjective

Definition of after (Entry 4 of 7)

1 : later in time in after years

2 [ Middle English, probably from afte ¹aft + -er ¹-er ] : located toward the rear and especially toward the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft an after cabin

after

auxiliary verb

af·ter | \ ˈäf-tər

Definition of after (Entry 5 of 7)

chiefly Irish

—used with a present participle to indicate action completed and especially just completed the poor old man is after dying on me— J. M. Synge

after

noun

Definition of after (Entry 6 of 7)

: afternoon

after-

prefix

Definition of after- (Entry 7 of 7)

1a —used as the first part of a compound to indicate an event or entity that follows or results from the thing denoted by the second part of the compound afterbirthafterlifeafternoon

b —used as the first part of a compound to indicate an event or entity of the same nature as the thing denoted by the second part of the compound but which follows that event or entity and is less intense or significant afterglowaftershockafterthought

2 —the rear or lower part afterdeck

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about after

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Synonyms & Antonyms for after

Synonyms: Adverb

afterward (or afterwards), later, latterly, subsequently, thereafter

Synonyms: Preposition

après, behind, below, following, next to, past

Synonyms: Adjective

aft, back, hind, hinder, hindmost, posterior, rear, rearward

Antonyms: Adverb

afore [chiefly dialect], ahead, antecedently, anteriorly, before, beforehand, earlier, previously

Antonyms: Preposition

afore [chiefly dialect], ahead of, before, ere, of, previous to, prior to, to

Antonyms: Adjective

anterior, fore, forward, front, frontal

Examples of after in a Sentence

Adverb

Don't tell them until after. I expected her then, but she arrived the week after. He ate lunch and left just after.

Preposition

We arrived shortly after six o'clock. He returned after 20 years. before, during, and after the war He left just after nightfall. He finished the exam after me. Call me after your arrival. She was going to arrive tomorrow but I'm now expecting her the day after tomorrow instead. He left after an hour. How can you say that after what happened last night? It's the highest mountain after Mount Everest.

Conjunction

He returned after 20 years had passed. Don't tell them until after they've had dinner. He left just after the show ended. Call me after you arrive. He finished the exam after I did. It happened not long after he graduated from college.

Adjective

had heard that the after section of an aircraft is safer in the event of a crash in after years the government set up a special fund for disabled veterans of the war

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Soon after, in April, Tesla was making 2,000 Model 3s per week. — Sean O'kane, The Verge, "The Verge 2018 tech report card: Tesla," 29 Dec. 2018 Soon after, in the biggest fight of their young union, Jamie follows Scottish tradition and punishes Claire for not obeying him. — Wendy Naugle, Glamour, "Outlander's Sex Scenes Are More Than Hot—They're Genuinely Feminist," 7 Dec. 2018 But excessive caution is discouraged: Not long after, players need to build enough speed to leap across the pool of molten lava at the mountain’s heart. — Leif Johnson, PCWorld, "Check out this exclusive look at Guild Wars 2's jaw-dropping Infernal Leap roller beetle track," 26 Nov. 2018 Richard Russell got his start in politics early, winning election to the Georgia state legislature at 24, becoming speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives soon after, and becoming governor of the state at age 33 in 1930. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The fight over renaming the Russell Senate Office Building after John McCain, explained," 29 Aug. 2018 The inner movements weren't after-thoughts, either. — Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Orchestra keeps the flame burning as 'The Prometheus Project' continues (review)," 14 May 2018 And with that, on the eve of their happily ever after, Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox google each other. — Susanna Fogel, Glamour, "This Is What You’ve Got Mail Would Look Like 20 Years Later," 20 Dec. 2018 When it was all said and done, the newlyweds jetted off to South Africa and Kenya for their honeymoon—which was beautifully documented on Instagram—and started living their happily ever after. — Alexandra Macon, Vogue, "Chryseis Tan Wore Oscar de la Renta for Her Fall Foliage–Filled Wedding in Kyoto," 19 Dec. 2018 While the movie gave the twins their happily ever after, fans are still holding out hope that Netflix creates a sequel to follow Margaret and Stacy in their new lives. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Everything We Know About "The Princess Switch" Sequel," 26 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Here's a before-and-after look at marijuana shops across Anchorage, some of which have transformed more dramatically than others. — Annie Zak, Anchorage Daily News, "Before and after: How retail marijuana has changed storefronts across Anchorage," 16 May 2018 So their before-and-after pictures show really dramatic improvements. — Michelle Gant, Fox News, "The truth about those popular 'liquid nose jobs'," 4 May 2018 On Wednesday, the fitness influencer posted an Instagram before-and-after photo showing her postpartum body. — Blake Bakkila, Health.com, "Emily Skye Reveals She Has Changed Her Body Goals Post-Baby in Her Latest Transformation Photo," 19 Apr. 2018 Teams employ various strategies to compete for fans' sought-after entertainment dollars. — Marc Bona, cleveland.com, "Free baseball tickets? Orioles trying 'Kids Cheer Free' deal," 15 Apr. 2018 Morstead conducted more than two dozen interviews during a day that began before dawn and didn't end until well after sunset. — Jeff Duncan, NOLA.com, "Thomas Morstead's third trip to Minnesota is a rewarding one," 2 Feb. 2018 Experts say the same thing occurred in late 1986 - donations surged that year, dropped the next - after enactment of the Reagan administration tax overhaul, the biggest reworking of the U.S. tax system until this one. — Marcy Gordon, Houston Chronicle, "Charity donations likely to drop next year due to tax law," 28 Dec. 2017 Such alliances are key in the advertising industry, where buying smaller rivals or forming partnerships can be one of the only ways to bring in much sought-after information-technology talent. — Grace Huang, Bloomberg.com, "WPP Alliance Dead With or Without Bain Deal, ADK's CEO Says," 19 Oct. 2017 The Fed's key rate is at a still-low range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent after two quarter-point rate increases this year, in March and June. — Martin Crutsinger, Philly.com, "Fed officials indicate that interest rates could rise," 12 Oct. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

On especially sought-after streets—including Moray Place plus nearby Heriot Row and Northumberland Street—prices can rise to around $800 per square foot. — Ruth Bloomfield, WSJ, "Inside One of The United Kingdom’s Hottest Real-Estate Markets," 20 June 2018 Even more impressive than Mandy Moore's laundry room before-and-after. — Danielle Tullo, House Beautiful, "You Won't Believe What This Kitchen Looks Like Now," 28 Sep. 2018 But that doesn’t mean that most artists see even a small fraction of that money, since the highest-value sales usually involve one wealthy collector putting a highly sought-after work up for auction. — Gaby Del Valle, Vox, "Why is art so expensive?," 31 Oct. 2018 Vacancies for glacier monitors are rare and highly sought-after, and many glaciers have been in the same family for generations, passed down to sons and daughters, like Haraldsson, when the journey becomes too arduous for their aging watchmen. — The Atlantic, "The Icelandic Families Tracking Climate Change With Measuring Tape," 6 June 2018 Vacancies for glacier monitors are rare and highly sought-after, and many glaciers have been in the same family for generations, passed down to sons and daughters, like Haraldsson, when the journey becomes too arduous for their aging watchmen. — The Atlantic, "The Icelandic Families Tracking Climate Change With Measuring Tape," 6 June 2018 Vacancies for glacier monitors are rare and highly sought-after, and many glaciers have been in the same family for generations, passed down to sons and daughters, like Haraldsson, when the journey becomes too arduous for their aging watchmen. — The Atlantic, "The Icelandic Families Tracking Climate Change With Measuring Tape," 6 June 2018 Vacancies for glacier monitors are rare and highly sought-after, and many glaciers have been in the same family for generations, passed down to sons and daughters, like Haraldsson, when the journey becomes too arduous for their aging watchmen. — The Atlantic, "The Icelandic Families Tracking Climate Change With Measuring Tape," 6 June 2018 Vacancies for glacier monitors are rare and highly sought-after, and many glaciers have been in the same family for generations, passed down to sons and daughters, like Haraldsson, when the journey becomes too arduous for their aging watchmen. — The Atlantic, "The Icelandic Families Tracking Climate Change With Measuring Tape," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'after.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of after

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Conjunction

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Auxiliary verb

1778, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1902, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for after

Adverb

Middle English after, efter, going back to Old English æfter, going back to Germanic *after- (whence Old Saxon & Old High German aftar "after, behind," Old Norse eptir, Gothic aptaro), perhaps from Indo-European *h₁epi-, *h₁opi- "on, at" + *-ter-, suffix of separation and distinctness — more at epi-

Note: The initial element has alternatively been assigned to Indo-European *h₂epo-, "(away) from" (see of entry 1); cf. Sanskrit apataram, "farther off." In a Germanic context the forms may well have interacted with each other.

Preposition

Middle English after, efter, going back to Old English æfter, identical with the adverb æfter after entry 1 when governing an object

Conjunction

Middle English, elliptically for after that, from after after entry 2 + that that entry 2

Adjective

independent use of after-

Auxiliary verb

after entry 2, copying Irish prepositional constructions tar éis, i ndiaidh, etc.

Noun

by shortening

Prefix

Middle English after, going back to Old English æfter, form in composition of adverbial æfter after entry 1