once
∞
1.0
- adverb
- /wʌns/
- I think I got in my apartment pool once, only once.
- once belonged to
- once lived
- once wealthy, now
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Watch on YouTubeThey kill growth at what were once growth companies.
- They kill growth at what were once growth companies.
- This woman was once the brightest light in the room.
- Nor, as a grade schooler once said, a myth is a female moth.
- Like, my main agent right now once was my old agent's assistant.
- I remember I was once with Ray Dawn Chung.
- This string of bees that once turned honey into sun.
- You said a phrase that you learned once about an organ.
Examples
-
The village was once a bustling market town before the road was built.
-
On this day, Sam wrote, "Once upon a time there was a mean dragon."
Academic text (1999) -
OK, once a month, once a week, do it.
-
I met a man like that once.
-
This woman was once the brightest light in the room.
-
You know, this was once the tallest structure in the us.
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Although, I once owned a parrot.
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After a lifetime of churchgoing, I now attend once a year: on Ash Wednesday.
Academic text (2011) -
There are some things, George Orwell once remarked, that can only be learned at university.
Academic text (1999) -
By the 1770s, the Coffeehouse had been sold and was once again a store.
Academic text (2011)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
On a single occasion
156
1.9
At an earlier time
11
5.5
Having had a job or role in the past, not now
Antonyms
Idioms
- Literature
1
9.9
To try again to face a difficult situation even after failing before
- Informal
1
6.3
To check something carefully before you do it to avoid mistakes
- Informal
1
7.9
Careful about doing something again because of a bad past experience
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word once can mean 'formerly' because it literally meant 'at one time' in the past, with one meaning 'a single time'. So saying 'he was famous once' means he was famous 'at one time' before now.