: one single time : one time at least
Please be on time this once.
: that once was : former
… contributions to enrich the legal resources of the once province of Britain.—
J. N. Pomeroy
J. N. Pomeroy
: at the moment when : as soon as
Once she spoke, I recognized her.
Synonyms
Examples of once in a Sentence
Adverb
I will repeat the question once.
The play was performed only once.
She didn't once thank me.
He didn't look at me once.
It was once done that way.
A river once flowed through this canyon.
It was once a booming mining town.
Their music was once very popular.
Noun
I have tried Indian food more than once.
Please be on time just this once.
For once you seem to know what I'm talking about.
Adjective
the once child star is now a lawyer in the entertainment industry
Conjunction
Once she spoke, I recognized her.
you should have stopped wrestling once you knew someone was getting hurt, not five minutes later
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Recent Examples on the WebStephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Never afraid of stirring the pot, Chevy Chase has once again opened up about his abrupt departure from Community in 2012.
—Carita Rizzo, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
China’s property industry once accounted for as much as 30% of the country’s gross domestic product.
—Laura He, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
The actor's Scream Queens costars Lea Michele and John Stamos later interrogated him about the romance once again during a Facebook Live.
—Lydia Price, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2023
The state-of-the-art theater, once a source of immense collective pride, is now a poisonous wedge.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Sep. 2023
That thinking has once again brought us to a crisis.
—Heather Cox Richardson, The New Republic, 26 Sep. 2023
High value target Ivy Stryker of Farmington, Michigan, became a victim of the CAN bus attack not once but twice.
—Ash-Har Quraishi, Amy Corral, CBS News, 26 Sep. 2023
The house where Jamie Lee Curtis' character, Laurie Strode, once lived in fictional Haddonfield, Illinois, is up for sale for just shy of $1.8 million, listing agent Heidi Babcock of eXp Realty confirmed to PEOPLE.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2023
Thomas Adamson, ajc, 2 Mar. 2023
Continuing, Belloni pointed out that internal company data apparently suggests that stretching out the release cadence of Netflix shows to a weekly rollout, instead of an all-at-once drop, won’t meaningfully reduce subscriber churn.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 10 Sep. 2022
Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Dec. 2022
Our memories of these spaces are bound up in their blaring, everywhere-at-once noise.
—K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2022
And on Friday, multiple blogs and news sites declared an even bigger change is coming: A larger, maybe even a complete, shift away from the all-at-once-release of Netflix shows.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 10 Sep. 2022
One similarity between the Orca and an EV is the all-at-once, better-be-ready throttle response.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 28 July 2022
The platform on at least two occasions has blocked Raichik’s ability to tweet - once for 12 hours in April, and then again for a week in a sanction that ends Saturday.
—Taylor Lorenz, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Peter Jamison, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Sep. 2022
The Chabad of Glencoe event celebrated what was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to witness the completion of an inked Torah scroll.
—Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022
Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 25 July 2023
John Cheever, Joseph Heller, Doris Lessing, Chaim Potok and Ray Bradbury were among his clients, along with Katharine Graham, the once publisher of the Washington Post.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 June 2023
The once fringe term, associated with the idea that AI poses an existential risk to humanity, is central to OpenAI’s mission and had been embraced by DeepMind, but was avoided by Google’s top brass.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
In the three months since its inauguration, Netanyahu’s government — cobbled together with once-fringe ultranationalist and ultraconservative religious parties — has led to a period of national division and security crisis, defense officials say.
—Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2023
Gerardo Mora—Getty Images The Walt Disney Company’s once-grand plans for the metaverse have been quietly shelved, and the media and entertainment giant has joined other big companies in laying off employees dedicated to the technology, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 28 Mar. 2023
The once queen of Instagram is back.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 12 Jan. 2023
The once-rockstar software developer, instead of coding, spends the day managing the minutiae of the daily workflow.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
Elsewhere: Goldman Sachs is considering shrinking its consumer business, as the Wall Street giant all but admits defeat on its once-grand plans for expansive Main Street offerings.
—Wsj Staff, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2023
See More
Adverb
The refrigerated case that once held sausages and cuts of meat soon will host a rainbow of aguas frescas and to-go containers of salsas, while the taps will flow with beer and wine — a first for the local taqueria.
—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Never afraid of stirring the pot, Chevy Chase has once again opened up about his abrupt departure from Community in 2012.
—Carita Rizzo, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
China’s property industry once accounted for as much as 30% of the country’s gross domestic product.
—Laura He, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
The actor's Scream Queens costars Lea Michele and John Stamos later interrogated him about the romance once again during a Facebook Live.
—Lydia Price, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2023
The state-of-the-art theater, once a source of immense collective pride, is now a poisonous wedge.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Sep. 2023
That thinking has once again brought us to a crisis.
—Heather Cox Richardson, The New Republic, 26 Sep. 2023
High value target Ivy Stryker of Farmington, Michigan, became a victim of the CAN bus attack not once but twice.
—Ash-Har Quraishi, Amy Corral, CBS News, 26 Sep. 2023
The house where Jamie Lee Curtis' character, Laurie Strode, once lived in fictional Haddonfield, Illinois, is up for sale for just shy of $1.8 million, listing agent Heidi Babcock of eXp Realty confirmed to PEOPLE.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2023
Noun
Here are some highlights of ready-to-wear collections Thursday: GIVENCHY GETS FEMININE The once-street and urban Matthew M. Williams uttered a word not often heard describing his designs: Elegant.
—Thomas Adamson, ajc, 2 Mar. 2023
Continuing, Belloni pointed out that internal company data apparently suggests that stretching out the release cadence of Netflix shows to a weekly rollout, instead of an all-at-once drop, won’t meaningfully reduce subscriber churn.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 10 Sep. 2022
Taylor is a once in a generation artist and storyteller.
—Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 9 Dec. 2022
Our memories of these spaces are bound up in their blaring, everywhere-at-once noise.
—K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2022
And on Friday, multiple blogs and news sites declared an even bigger change is coming: A larger, maybe even a complete, shift away from the all-at-once-release of Netflix shows.
—Andy Meek, BGR, 10 Sep. 2022
One similarity between the Orca and an EV is the all-at-once, better-be-ready throttle response.
—Dan Neil, WSJ, 28 July 2022
The platform on at least two occasions has blocked Raichik’s ability to tweet - once for 12 hours in April, and then again for a week in a sanction that ends Saturday.
—Taylor Lorenz, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Peter Jamison, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Sep. 2022
The Chabad of Glencoe event celebrated what was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many to witness the completion of an inked Torah scroll.
—Karie Angell Luc, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022
Adjective
Her meeting with Bass' children comes weeks after the once boy band member alleged that Spears bailed on meeting his children after a request was made by her team to schedule a visit.
—Morgan Hines, USA TODAY, 25 July 2023
John Cheever, Joseph Heller, Doris Lessing, Chaim Potok and Ray Bradbury were among his clients, along with Katharine Graham, the once publisher of the Washington Post.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 14 June 2023
The once fringe term, associated with the idea that AI poses an existential risk to humanity, is central to OpenAI’s mission and had been embraced by DeepMind, but was avoided by Google’s top brass.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
In the three months since its inauguration, Netanyahu’s government — cobbled together with once-fringe ultranationalist and ultraconservative religious parties — has led to a period of national division and security crisis, defense officials say.
—Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2023
Gerardo Mora—Getty Images The Walt Disney Company’s once-grand plans for the metaverse have been quietly shelved, and the media and entertainment giant has joined other big companies in laying off employees dedicated to the technology, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune Crypto, 28 Mar. 2023
The once queen of Instagram is back.
—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 12 Jan. 2023
The once-rockstar software developer, instead of coding, spends the day managing the minutiae of the daily workflow.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
Elsewhere: Goldman Sachs is considering shrinking its consumer business, as the Wall Street giant all but admits defeat on its once-grand plans for expansive Main Street offerings.
—Wsj Staff, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'once.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adverb, Noun, Adjective, and Conjunction
Middle English ones, from genitive of on one
First Known Use
Adverb
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1620, in the meaning defined above
Conjunction
1747, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of once was
in the 12th century
Phrases Containing once
Dictionary Entries Near once
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/once. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
once
2 of 3 noun
: one single time
just this once
once
3 of 3 conjunction
: as soon as
once that is done, all will be well
More from Merriam-Webster on once
Nglish: Translation of once for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of once for Arabic Speakers
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