# already

Pronunciation: say "awl-RED-ee" US /ɔlˈɹɛdi/, UK /ɔːlˈɹɛdi/

## Adverb

1. Before some specified time: whether past, present, or future; by this point; previously.
   - Simple: Before now, or before the time you are talking about.
   - _She had already left the office when I called._
   - _We've already paid for the tickets, so there's nothing left to settle._
2. Used to express surprise that something has happened so soon, sooner than expected.
   - Simple: Used to show surprise that something happened sooner than you expected.
   - _You've read the whole book already?_
   - _We can't be out of coffee already._
3. Added for emphasis to convey impatience or exasperation. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Used at the end of a sentence to show that you feel annoyed or impatient.
   - _Would you make a decision already?_
   - _Enough already! Let's just go home and get some sleep._
4. In Singapore English, marks an action as completed, whether it actually happened or is only supposed; more broadly, it marks perfective aspect. *(Singapore, Singlish)*
   - Simple: In Singapore English, used to show that an action is done, or will be done.
   - _Don't worry, I pay already, the receipt is in my bag._
   - _Once you submit the form already, they will call you back._
5. In Singapore English, marks a change of state, working much as the inchoative aspect does. *(Singapore, Singlish)*
   - Simple: In Singapore English, used to show that something is now different from before.
   - _Aiyah, the milk sour already, don't drink it._
   - _Grandpa's hair white already, but he still jogs every morning._

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/already (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).