# always

Pronunciation: say "AWL-wayz" US /ˈɔl.weɪz/, UK /ˈɔːl.weɪz/

## Adverb

1. Constantly throughout a period, or regularly at stated intervals, rather than only sometimes.
   - Simple: Every time, or again and again, not just once in a while.
   - _He always arrives ten minutes early for meetings._
   - _The bakery always sells out of bread by noon._
2. At all times, throughout the whole of time, from the very beginning.
   - Simple: For all of time, from the very start until now.
   - _Philosophers debate whether the universe has always existed or had a beginning._
   - _Humans have always searched for ways to explain the world._
3. Used to put forward something as a fallback option, if necessary or if no better choice exists. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used to offer a backup plan if nothing better works.
   - _If dinner plans fall through, we can always order takeout instead._
   - _We can always reschedule the meeting if something comes up._

## Origin

From Middle English alweyes, a variant of alwey, from Old English ealne weġ, literally "all the way" or "all the while," meaning continuously. It is made up of "all" plus "way" in the accusative case, with an added -s, and is related to Scots always and Low German allerwegens.

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