just then
52
1.7
- idiom
- Just then I heard a door open behind me.
- just then he came
- just then he saw
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Watch on YouTubeI was walking, the horse was walking in, and just then an alien ship landed.
- I was walking, the horse was walking in, and just then an alien ship landed.
- But I just then I felt this overwhelming desire to be immersed in nature again.
- And then I was just then couch hopping for a long time.
- So, you know, you describe yourself just then as like a tiny little thing.
- And I just then I didn't know what what to do with myself.
- I almost got arrested kind of just then.
- And finally, just then breathe and go, OK, none of that was going to work.
Examples
-
The topic was at the center of Swedish public interest just then.
Academic text (1996) -
There, just then when he looked at me, his eyes almost had fire in them.
-
Anyway, just then I thought to try my luck.
-
This is a different film which had just then gone over the line.
-
I hit that really hard just then and now just pick it up.
-
But do you think I was concerned about the weather just then?
Fiction book (1991) -
A boy came in just then and laid some mail on the desk.
Fiction book (1991) -
Just then, the phone rang.
-
Just then, a pedagogue walked by with his young charge on their way to school.
Academic text (2011) -
Just then, the lights went out during the storm.
Synonyms
278
1.0
A very short time ago
45
3.2
Do something immediately at that moment
1
1.0
The time being talked about
Antonyms
How Precise
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'at that precise moment' is directly and predictably derived from combining the temporal sense of 'just' (a very short time / exactly) with 'then' (at that time). This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows standard temporal adverb combination in English, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Just then paints a quick picture of one exact moment: imagine watching a clock and, at one second, something happens. So just (exact) + then (that time) became a simple way to say 'at that precise moment'.