again

adverb \ ə-ˈgen , -ˈgin , -ˈgān \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: again in a Sentence

Definition of again

1 : in return : back

… swore he would pay him again when he was able.
—William Shakespeare

2 a : 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 said

Again, I ask, why are you doing this?

c —used to ask someone to repeat something that was not heard or understood clearly

I'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.

See again defined for English-language learners

See again defined for kids

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 of again from the Web

One teacher reported that had girls in her cabin in tears all over again.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "A Retreat’s Risky Lessons," 14 June 2018
A month after his first outreach to Ambassador Otaiba, Mr. Barrack wrote again on May 26 to introduce Mr. Kushner, who was preparing for a role as a presidential envoy to the Middle East.

— david d. kirkpatrick, New York Times, "Who Is Behind Trump’s Links to Arab Princes? A Billionaire Friend," 13 June 2018
Garmin, the powerhouse tech brand behind today's top GPS devices, has done it again.

— anna hecht, CNN Underscored, "Garmin releases GPS smartwatch that holds up to 500 songs," 13 June 2018
His team will once again look to get him the ball in attack once the World Cup starts.

— alex ward, Vox, "Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Salah, and many more.," 12 June 2018
Esmond, a three-time All-County player, was again one of the top scorers in the county this spring.

— kyle stackpole, Howard County Times, "Glenelg senior Anna Callahan seizes girls lacrosse Player of the Year honors," 12 June 2018
Here are six intriguing insights from the man who accidentally leaked plans for 2007's The Simpsons Movie and lived to write again: 1.

— bill keveney, USA TODAY, "'Springfield Confidential' spills juicy secrets of 'The Simpsons'," 11 June 2018
Microsoft will once again have to mostly rely on third-party studios to fill the gaps this year, with massive games that can also be played on rival hardware.

— tom warren, The Verge, "Microsoft is getting ready for the next Xbox vs. PlayStation console war," 11 June 2018
The law is up for reauthorization again this year, and since March, versions have been bouncing between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

— maryn mckenna, WIRED, "To Understand Antibiotic Abuse We Need Data From Farms," 11 June 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of 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- ¹on, ¹a- + -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.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year