How to Use once in a while in a Sentence

once in a while

phrase
  • But once in a while, as in Boyle Heights, things go blooey big time.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • Yeah, this sort of thing happens once in a while to certain actors.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026
  • Even once in a while, from under the ocean floor, hot magma erupts through the gaps and then cools down to form new planetary crust.
    Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 9 July 2026
  • Islands are decoupled from each other, and synchronizing knowledge between them happens once in a while.
    IEEE Spectrum, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Wake up from your woke world and read the Daily News once in a while so you can be informed of that 3-year-old on the playground who had their brains blown out, or that subway rider who was pushed onto the rails.
    Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'once in a while.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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