as in former
having been such at some previous time
the once child star is now a lawyer in the entertainment industry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in when
just at the moment that
you should have stopped wrestling once you knew someone was getting hurt, not five minutes later
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of once
Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2025
The news comes after the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, gave official approval Thursday, May 22 for SpaceX to launch Starship once again.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 May 2025
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
For Silver, there can no peace until the new school, and the resurgence of Cobra Kai headed by his once friend and now nemesis Kreese, gets some payback.
—Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for once
Adverb
On this first night, the magic was on the other side in a manner that told you this final step up the mountain will, once again, be the toughest.
—Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2025
The news comes after the Federal Aviation Administration, which licenses commercial rocket launches, gave official approval Thursday, May 22 for SpaceX to launch Starship once again.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 May 2025
Adjective
But Smith also had some choice words for the once and future president.
—Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025
For Silver, there can no peace until the new school, and the resurgence of Cobra Kai headed by his once friend and now nemesis Kreese, gets some payback.
—Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for once
Recent Examples of Synonyms for once
Adverb
-
What To Know Damien Symon, an open-source intelligence expert, posted a satellite image on X (formerly Twitter) showing the Liaoning underway in the Philippine Sea, approximately 430 nautical miles (494 miles) southeast of Taiwan, accompanied by two escorting ships on Wednesday.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
-
The next day, 23-year-old Wayne Lucas was taken into custody in Virginia in connection with the attack, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a May 28 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2025
Adjective
-
Legends finds Jackson playing Victor, a former boxing champ and pizzeria owner.—
Nicole Acosta,
People.com,
28 May 2025
-
Thornton and Veronica Burton — both former Dallas Wings teammates — combined for 13 points in the third, but the lead again stretched to 16 at the end of the third.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
International students make up about 27% of the student body at the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
5 June 2025
-
Former New College student Katie Helms, 47, got emotional when remembering her old mentor.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
Similarly, SpaceX is hugely dependent on direct grants and regulatory permitting, clearances, and partnership from NASA and other federal agencies.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
6 June 2025
-
Avoid tall, isolated trees or other elevated objects.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
This and other such studies are significant steps in the erstwhile direction of mapping brain-mind formulations to the nature of mental disorders.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
-
In 2017 under the erstwhile Nebraska star, the Knights capped a 13-0 season by defeating Auburn in the Peach Bowl.—
Matt Murschel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
Trump’s past sabotage of COVID-19 safety measures is linked to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
-
As major Cold War events like the Cuban Missile Crisis, the space race, and the Vietnam War fueled American anxieties and obsessions about Soviet power, the spirit found a way to slip past political divisions and into American homes—despite its connections with the Soviet enemy.—
Time,
Time,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
Instead, Trump took a number of potshots at his sometime opponent during a Tuesday press conference, less than 48 hours after ordering the Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2025
-
The fang gang present themselves as yearning European folk enthusiasts and later as jigging fiends and sometime metalheads.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
As of late 2024, the chain had more than 4,000 retail stores throughout the world, including more than 180 in the United States.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2025
-
But the younger Marley is not standing in the shadows of his late father.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share