at a time
idiom
1
: during one particular moment
I can only do one thing at a time.
Please speak one at a time and not all at once.
We carried the boxes two at a time up the stairs.
2
: during one period of time without stopping
She can sit and read for hours at a time.
Examples of at a time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Actress Naturi Naughton has transformed her body one set at a time.
—
Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 4 Oct. 2025
Last year, Harrison Bardwell, the farm’s ninth-generation proprietor, was selling thousands of pounds of cucumbers at a time, transportable by pallet and forklift.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Add remaining 1/2 cup cooking water, 1/4 cup at a time, if necessary to maintain a creamy consistency.
—Elizabeth Mervosh, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Eliza Varadi, a pediatrician in South Carolina, told me that the murkiness around insurance coverage, coupled with lower demand, has prompted her practice to start ordering COVID vaccines just one box at a time—each a batch of 10 doses—to minimize the potential for loss.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for at a time
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Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 4 Oct. 2025
Last year, Harrison Bardwell, the farm’s ninth-generation proprietor, was selling thousands of pounds of cucumbers at a time, transportable by pallet and forklift.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Add remaining 1/2 cup cooking water, 1/4 cup at a time, if necessary to maintain a creamy consistency.
—Elizabeth Mervosh, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Eliza Varadi, a pediatrician in South Carolina, told me that the murkiness around insurance coverage, coupled with lower demand, has prompted her practice to start ordering COVID vaccines just one box at a time—each a batch of 10 doses—to minimize the potential for loss.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for at a time
Cite this Entry
“At a time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/at%20a%20time. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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