once upon a time

phrase

: at some time in the past

He was a famous actor once upon a time.

Note: Once upon a time is the traditional way to begin a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Snow White.

Examples of once upon a time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Someone had a sign in the crowd that said Hensley had given her a concussion in a youth soccer game once upon a time. — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026

Carefully avoiding quick judgement and slowly uncovering a long history of violence, injustices and destruction, the young filmmaker exposes the deep sadness of a once upon a time joyful and prosperous environment. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Mar. 2026

This supports the hypothesis that Dimorphos formed from material that was once upon a time spun-off from Didymos. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 10 Mar. 2026

Readers who discover Joy Williams’s astonishing second novel in 2018 may be surprised to feel a primordial déjà vu; a tingling where their own antlers might have been, once upon a time. — Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for once upon a time

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• overtime