once upon a time
idiom
: 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
And Donnie says that Ronnie’s City on a Hill was a real thing once upon a time!
—
Jason Mott
august 14, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
The two, who came up together in the elbows-out world of San Francisco politics, have had a decades-long rivalry, sharing many of the same donors and, once upon a time, the same set of strategists.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
Atlanta already has the A's to thank for Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Nick Allen, not to mention Tim Hudson once upon a time.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025
But once upon a time, before teams became obsessed with projections and modeling, the most effective way to evaluate a trade was by asking the question: Who got the best player in the deal?
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for once upon a time
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Jason Mott
august 14, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025
The two, who came up together in the elbows-out world of San Francisco politics, have had a decades-long rivalry, sharing many of the same donors and, once upon a time, the same set of strategists.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2025
Atlanta already has the A's to thank for Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and Nick Allen, not to mention Tim Hudson once upon a time.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025
But once upon a time, before teams became obsessed with projections and modeling, the most effective way to evaluate a trade was by asking the question: Who got the best player in the deal?
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for once upon a time
Cite this Entry
“Once upon a time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/once%20upon%20a%20time. Accessed 23 Aug. 2025.
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