again

\ ə-ˈgen

, -ˈgin, -ˈgān \

Definition of again

1 : in return : back … swore he would pay him again when he was able.— William Shakespeare

2a : another time : once more : anew I shall not look upon his like again.— William Shakespeare

b —used to introduce a statement that repeats and stresses something previously saidAgain, I ask, why are you doing this?

c —used to ask someone to repeat something that was not heard or understood clearlyI'm sorry, what was your name again?

3 : on the other hand He might go, and again he might not.

4 : in addition : besides Again, there is another matter to consider.

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about again

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Examples of again in a Sentence

Please, come see us again. It was nice to see my friends again. She wants to prove that she can do it again. Things are back to normal again. When we heard the news, we all said, “Oh no! Not again!”. She demonstrated yet again her remarkable artistic talents. It'll just be the same thing all over again. When he stood up, he got so dizzy that he had to sit down again.

Recent Examples on the Web The timing could not be worse, either, with four games at Coors Field looming to start a 10-game trip to Denver, Los Angeles (again) and Houston. — Henry Schulman, SFChronicle.com, "Giants stage yet another big comeback, but pitching falters in loss to Rangers," 2 Aug. 2020 Traditionally, rocket boosters were ditched in the ocean after powering their payloads to orbit, never to be used again. — Washington Post, "SpaceX landing planned for the Gulf of Mexico," 2 Aug. 2020 Fences and hedges need to be checked and checked again in order to goat-proof the paddocks. — Ruby Tandoh, The New Yorker, "How a Cheese Goes Extinct," 2 Aug. 2020 The virus’s resurgence has prompted officials in California, Texas, Florida and other states to order restaurants shut again. — Joyce M. Rosenberg, Anchorage Daily News, "With loan money gone, restaurants are at mercy of coronvirus," 2 Aug. 2020 Some employees won't return to their offices until at least 2021, while others might not ever see their office again. — Alexis Benveniste, CNN, "These companies are working from home until 2021 -- or forever," 2 Aug. 2020 Christian Yelich moved to left and Cain remained in center, once again leaving Gamel as the swing man capable of playing all three spots. — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Hot-swinging Ben Gamel will have big opportunity in center field after Lorenzo Cain's opt out," 2 Aug. 2020 In a news conference last month, Holcomb said the state will look at a variety of indicators when determining whether students will need to stay home again. — Arika Herron, The Indianapolis Star, "The state has no requirements for reopening plans. How will we know schools are safe?," 2 Aug. 2020 As for the capsule itself, it will be restored at a SpaceX facility in Florida and used again for another crewed mission next spring. — Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, "SpaceX Brings Astronauts Home Safely in a Historic First," 2 Aug. 2020

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

History and Etymology for again

Middle English ayen, ayein, ayan, ageyn, again "back, in the opposite direction, to a former state, once more, another time," going back to Old English ongeagn, ongeæn, ongēan, ongān, ongegn, ongēn, agēn (Northumbrian ongægn, ongǣn), (compare parallel compounds in Old Saxon angegin "once more, toward," Old High German ingagan, ingegin "in opposition") from on-, a- on entry 1, a- entry 1 + -geagn (going back to Germanic *gagna-, whence Old High German gagan "towards, against," Old Norse gagn- "against, counter, through") or -gegn (going back to Germanic *gagni-, whence Old Saxon & Old High German gegin "against," Old Frisian jēn, Old Norse gegn)

Note: It has been assumed that certain Old English forms, such as ongeagn, reflected an original *gagna-, and others, such as ongegn, an original *gegni-, though the evidence for the latter in Old English is not entirely clear. The rare instances of ongegn could represent "palatal monophthongization" of ongeagn, while ongēn would be a contraction of ongegn—this would leave only reflexes of *gagna- in Old English. Old English ongān (continued in Middle English ayan) apparently represents a monophthongization of ongēan after the crest of the diphthong had shifted forward. Middle English ayen, the most common southern form well into the 14th century, may be the outcome of either ongēan or ongēn. The form ayein would appear to directly continue ongegn. Originally northern again is presumed to have the velar /g/ from Old Norse i gegn. The shortened vowel in the usual pronunciation of again is probably due to against, where it was conditioned by the final consonant cluster. The origin of Germanic *gagna-, *gegni- (Gothic correspondent lacking) is obscure.