at once

phrase

1

: at the same time : simultaneously

2

: immediately

3

: both entry 2

at once funny and sad

Examples of at once in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The video plays hopscotch with tone—at once horrific, ridiculous, and bathetically earnest. — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

There yet remain some open spaces where both at once can bloom. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Andy Warhol, working from a photograph that had appeared in a pinup magazine featuring Mat Queens, created a silk screen of Drexler as Rosa, mid-lunge, at once menacing and seductive. — Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026

There’s an atemporal quality to Guitarrica’s music, at once vibrant and youthful, of its moment with pop hooks but simultaneously pulling from the traditional sounds of flamenco and rumba. — Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for at once

• bunce
• dunce