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.
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Recent Examples of once
Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
Royals’ offense still seeking consistency After crossing home plate just once in Saturday’s loss to the Orioles, the Royals scored early on Sunday against Orioles starter Cade Povich.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2025
Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
As the once leader of the industry, its woes rippled backward through the supply chain and forward into the airline industry which desperately needed new aircraft to meet the rising demand for post-pandemic travel.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for once
Adverb
The commercial rate for three-yard bin picked up once per week would increase to $137.93, up from $133.89.
—Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
Royals’ offense still seeking consistency After crossing home plate just once in Saturday’s loss to the Orioles, the Royals scored early on Sunday against Orioles starter Cade Povich.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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
As the once leader of the industry, its woes rippled backward through the supply chain and forward into the airline industry which desperately needed new aircraft to meet the rising demand for post-pandemic travel.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for once
Recent Examples of Synonyms for once
Adverb
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Back in 2018, when Versace was bought by Capri (formerly Michael Kors) from the Versace family and Blackstone, Capri splashed out $2.2 billion including debt.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
10 Apr. 2025
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The next largest, USDS (formerly DAI), has about $8 billion.—
Nina Bambysheva,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Torossian served as former Council President Paul Krekorian’s chief of staff before joining Councilmember Adrin Nazarian’s staff.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
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Previously, the administration of former Mayor Jerome Prince endorsed a controversial plan for Fulcrum BioEnergy to build a waste-to-energy plant on the site.—
Carole Carlson,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Desk calendar Your old phone can be repurposed as your personal calendar.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
6 Apr. 2025
-
My father, Mila’s grandfather, after whom she is named, was five years old at the time.—
David Bezmozgis,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In the lead up to the party, Eady had expressed contrition to other cast members about her previous actions toward Moore.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
7 Apr. 2025
-
The Israeli government shut down the supply of food and other humanitarian aid into Gaza ahead of the offensive, in a bid to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and impose new conditions on the extension of the ceasefire.—
Tim Lister and Ibrahim Dahman,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Immediately after the conclusion of the speech, the Senate moved to confirm erstwhile former Trump first-term Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker as ambassador to NATO.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2025
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Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East is proving to be far harder to achieve than the real estate deals envisaged by the president, while the bludgeon of tariffs is raising ever more opposition among erstwhile allies.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Moreover, Edward Jones has proactively addressed past disparities.—
Jason Wingard,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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When the interviewer also brought up past accounts of Murray being difficult to work with on set (Lucy Liu recently discussed her experience), Murray also shrugged those off.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Led by Smith’s longtime bass player and keyboardist Tony Shanahan, the support crew included Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, former Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer and sometime Rolling Stone Steve Jordan, and guitarist Charlie Sexton.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
27 Mar. 2025
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Vito Genovese, Frank’s sometime friend and longtime rival, is having a more eventful evening, overseeing the murder of his wife’s ex-husband.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But the prolific writer-director’s latest provides an illustration of how the genre became somewhat fossilized via formulaic writing and overexposure even before 1950s television began churning out Western content in bulk.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2025
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One giant got distracted by a wandering minstrel One giant overslept and started late Clues: Brumm is not the fastest builder but didn’t oversleep.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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