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
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 11 July 2025
As a teenager, Jeff and his family moved once again, this time settling down in Florida.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 29 June 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
Continue to deadhead dahlias throughout their blooming season, as often as once a week, to maximize their flower production.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 11 July 2025
As a teenager, Jeff and his family moved once again, this time settling down in Florida.
—Alex Gurley, People.com, 29 June 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
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Jacobs works with a coach—formerly a professional athlete—who has shaped his thinking on leadership and life.—
Laura Begley Bloom,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
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Adoptive parents owe $30M, NH judge says In New Hampshire, Olivia Griffin, formerly Olivia Atkocaitis, was awarded over $29.5 million in damages after a judge ruled in her favor against her adoptive parents, Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Nic’s former connection, Cierra, who was kicked off the show for using a racial slur in a past social media post, subtly supported her former partner’s new connection with her best friend.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, has signed on as an executive producer of the upcoming crime-thriller 52nd State, which is currently in production in Bogota, Colombia.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Patrick O’Connor, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, told AP this may be Denver’s deepest and oldest find yet.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
11 July 2025
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Cape Florida Light The Cape Florida Light, in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on the tip of Key Biscayne, is the oldest lighthouse in the state.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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This is one of the countless reasons the Secret Service prides ourselves on forging and maintaining relationships with other law enforcement agencies.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
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But once those issues were resolved, random drop-in visits from Social Services workers over the next decade yielded no citations or other issues.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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But the real question is what kind of concrete retribution Trump could try to exact on his erstwhile political ally and campaign donor.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
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On the way to the Fordyce’s second floor, the erstwhile opulence along Bathhouse Row becomes evident.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Much of the Fusion’s back half looked as if it’d been sheared off, the muffler, the spare tire, and the fuel door the clearest surviving indications of its past form.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 July 2025
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In the same way, effective project management requires learning from past initiatives and applying those insights to improve forecasting accuracy—a skill that becomes increasingly valuable as projects grow in complexity and stakeholder expectations rise.—
Sarah Edwards,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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The five new unplugged versions were produced and mixed by band songwriter/guitarist and sometime singer Noel Gallagher and Callum Marinho from the original master recordings at Gallagher’s London Lone Star Sound studio, according to a release announcing the project.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
2 July 2025
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Toss in his old girlfriend Lucy and her sometime boyfriend and former cop Chuck Littlefield, and enjoy the ride in this sweet, sharp book.—
Ashley Baker,
Air Mail,
7 June 2025
Adjective
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There are certainly fluctuations of good and bad news all across the gaming industry, but more often than not as of late, the Xbox brand seems to be squandering its goodwill by saying one thing and then doing another over and over again.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
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Given this success, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed delisting the grizzlies for the first time in late 2005.—
Christine Peterson,
Wired News,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Once.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/once. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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