one time
750
1.0
- idiom
:
una vez
- OK, when you commit one mistake one time, there is no problem.
- only one time
- at least one time
- then one time
No, dude, I was, I was with some rich people one time and anytime.
- No, dude, I was, I was with some rich people one time and anytime.
- And I called for tickets one time and they said no.
- It only takes one time to catch an STD.
- So this one time I tried to fight a cop.
- I've seen you like randomly one time just scream water.
- Yeah, that was the one time that I got.
- You do, she said one time I heard you singing it.
- They were together only one time in life during The Big Bang.
- And I only print that we didn't find it one time at the end, right?
- I take that back there one time on this show.
- My mouth could not utter those words until one time I did.
- I went in and I read one time for that character.
- I mentally made-up my mind one time. I'd be at least,
- One time I get one time is so, so understandable.
Examples
-
There was this one time I was with Debbie Augenblick.
-
And I shall name for you one time and place when we were together.
Fiction book (1990) -
I went in and I read one time for that character.
-
The one time I actually want him in my house.
-
About eight of us quit at one time, and some others a little later.
Academic text (1990) -
Her dark hair and dark eyes say that at one time she must have been very beautiful.
Fiction book (1991) -
In fact, I myself, at one time, wondered about his phenomenal rise to the top.
Academic text (2017) -
One time, it was raining so bad, and I'm in my car searching for a umbrella.
-
There was this one time she... she had won an award at school... a ribbon... and she lost it, and she was so upset she cried for two days straight about that lost ribbon.
-
I visited my grandmother's house one time when I was a child.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Happens on a single occasion in the past or future
Antonyms
How Often
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'on one occasion; once' is directly derivable from combining 'one' (single) with 'time' (occasion), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning. This compositional pattern (equivalent to 'once') is cross-linguistically common, making the expression transparent to learners.
Etymology
One time comes from simple counting: people used the words one and time to point to a single occasion. So, it now means 'once' or 'on one occasion'.