at once
344
1.0
- idiom
- /ət wʌns/
:
inmediatamente
- If there's an emergency, call for help at once.
- begin at once
- go at once
- get out at once
He saw at once a famous landscape, the old brown, barren ascent with Tufts of dried out bone, like weeds poking slantedly into a dim and sunless sky.
- He saw at once a famous landscape, the old brown, barren ascent with Tufts of dried out bone, like weeds poking slantedly into a dim and sunless sky.
- You know, you know, you can't spend it all at once, but you know, like you've won the lottery right now.
- But let's say you at once you decide to open up it to poetry even.
Examples
-
I want her captured at once.
-
Stop this violence at once.
-
Everybody out, get out here at once.
-
You will stop this fighting at once and fall in.
-
I'll call her at once and tell her.
-
I'm leaving at once to meet him.
-
You will apologize at once, or I shall have you placed under arrest!
-
Prepare your troops at once.
-
Natalie called me a week after that, asking that I come at once to Edgar's apartment.
Fiction book (1991) -
If I don't deliver these dispatches at once, we're defeated!
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At this exact moment or right away
∞
1.0
At a fast speed or without delay
∞
1.0
At once without waiting
960
1.0
Without any delay
446
1.4
In a very short time
330
1.0
Right away without any delay
244
1.8
As quickly as you can without delay
163
1.0
Do something at once without delay
135
4.0
As soon as you can
130
1.0
Happening or done without any delay
98
2.1
Without delay or at the planned time
84
1.0
Quickly and smoothly
56
6.5
Right away without waiting
50
3.2
Right away without any hesitation
50
3.3
Very quickly, in almost no time
45
3.2
Do something immediately at that moment
43
2.1
Happening at the same time
35
2.5
Very quickly in a single moment
27
3.7
Very quickly and without delay
25
5.6
Happen at once without delay
15
7.3
Without any delay, right away
14
7.6
A single sudden action that happens all at once
13
3.5
Very quickly without delay
11
7.3
In a quick and efficient way
10
3.2
To finish something all at once without taking a break
8
3.0
Immediately without delay
7
3.2
Without delay after something happens
6
2.4
To act quickly without delay
4
3.4
All at once without stopping
4
6.0
Very quickly and without hesitation
3
5.5
To act immediately and confidently without pausing
3
3.0
It happens very quickly with little effort
3
9.9
Immediately, without any delay
1
3.5
Very quickly, in an instant
1
2.0
Happen very fast
1
4.7
All done at the same time with one action
Immediately without any delay
Right after something happens
Happens very quickly
Antonyms
How Quickly
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + once
The meaning 'immediately' is directly derivable from combining 'at' (a temporal/location marker) with 'once' used in the sense 'as soon as' or 'immediately after'; together they form a standard temporal composition in English. This construction mirrors common time-expression patterns in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
At once also suggests doing something in that single moment at once with no delay. Think of a teacher saying 'do it now' and expecting action right away; that's why it means 'immediately'.