already
- 1Before some specified time: whether past, present, or future; by this point; previously.
She had already left the office when I called.
We've already paid for the tickets, so there's nothing left to settle.
Similarpreviously, beforehand
Note
Its build explains its meaning. Middle English alredy joins al- "completely" to ready, and Dutch and Afrikaans alreeds are built the same way. Something already done was, at root, fully made ready before the moment in question. It can sit before the main verb (she hadn't already told me) or close the clause (I knew already). Keep it apart from all ready, written as two words, which still means entirely prepared: the guests were all ready.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Already derives from Middle English alredy, combining al- meaning “completely” with ready. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch alreeds similarly combines al with reeds. en.wiktionary.org
- Afrikaans alreeds likewise contains an intensifying al-. dbnl.org
- The explanation “fully made ready” reflects the word’s literal components. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Used to express surprise that something has happened so soon, sooner than expected.
You've read the whole book already?
We can't be out of coffee already.
Note
Surprise at the timing is the whole point here, and it usually comes in a question or a protest: Are you quitting already? Tone carries much of the meaning. The speaker is reacting to how early something has happened, not urging it along. Said with a sigh rather than raised eyebrows, the same word slides toward the impatient intensifier.
- 3Added for emphasis to convey impatience or exasperation.
Would you make a decision already?
Enough already! Let's just go home and get some sleep.
Note
In US and Canadian English, this one word carries impatience. It comes last in a command or a wish: Be quiet already! I wish they'd finish already. Its best-known home is the set phrase enough already, which can take a with-phrase naming whatever has gone on too long. Liz Smith used it that way in the Toledo Blade in 1988: Enough already with the lack of glamour!
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Liz Smith wrote “Enough already with the lack of glamour!” in the Toledo Blade in 1988. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 4In Singapore English, marks an action as completed, whether it actually happened or is only supposed; more broadly, it marks perfective aspect.
Don't worry, I pay already, the receipt is in my bag.
Once you submit the form already, they will call you back.
Note
Singapore English lets already carry the perfect on its own. I sign already does the work of I have signed, with no have in sight. It comes at the close of the clause, even before a tag question (You frame the picture for me already anot?). It covers the merely supposed as well as the done, and its Singlish partner liao does the same job. In formal or international writing, the standard perfect travels better.
- 5In Singapore English, marks a change of state, working much as the inchoative aspect does.
Aiyah, the milk sour already, don't drink it.
Grandpa's hair white already, but he still jogs every morning.
Note
Change of state is the other job already does in Singapore English, alongside its completion marker. Your grandmother angry already means she has become angry, often with no is or has at all. Overcook already, need to redo shows it on a bare verb. Unlike the "so soon" meaning, it need not suggest the change came early. It reports that the change has happened, and liao serves here too.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English alredy ("fully; already"), equal to al- ("all, completely") plus ready, with related words in Dutch (alreeds), Danish (allerede), and Swedish (allaredan). Its use as an intensifier in American English was borrowed from Yiddish שוין (shoyn), attested from 1903.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Already derives from Middle English alredy, meaning 'fully; already', and combines al- with ready. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch alreeds, Danish allerede, and Swedish allaredan are related words. en.wiktionary.org
- The American English intensifier use is a semantic borrowing from Yiddish shoyn, attested from 1903. en.wiktionary.org