# ever

Pronunciation: US say "EV-ur" /ˈɛvɚ/; UK say "EV-uh" /ˈɛvə/

## Adverb

1. At any point in time; on any occasion.
   - Simple: At any time in the past, present, or future.
   - _If you're ever in Denver, give me a call and we'll grab lunch._
   - _It is the fastest car they have ever tested on this track._
2. Continually, or more and more, used before a comparative or a present participle to show that a process keeps going.
   - Simple: All the time, or more and more, as in ever higher or ever-changing.
   - _Rents in the city climbed ever higher throughout the decade._
   - _Hospitals are struggling to store an ever-increasing flood of patient data._
3. Always; for all time; eternally. *(literary)*
   - Simple: Always, or lasting for all time.
   - _They pledged to remain ever faithful to the crown._
   - _May her good name be ever honored among us._
4. Used for emphasis after a question word, or in an exclamation shaped like a question, as in Was I ever glad. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used after a question word, or in an excited sentence shaped like a question, to add strong feeling.
   - _What ever made you think she would agree to that?_
   - _Who ever could have guessed the ending of the story?_

## Determiner

5. In some regional speech, a reduced form of 'every,' used before a noun to mean each one. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: A local way of saying 'every,' used before a noun.
   - _We worked the fields ever day from dawn to dusk._
   - _She finds time to call her mother ever chance she gets._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Describing anyone who has done a particular thing at least once within a period, regardless of whether they still do it.

## Origin

From Middle English ever, from Old English ǣfre. It was probably originally a phrase whose first element was Old English ā ("ever, always") plus in ("in"), with a further element possibly from feorh ("life, existence"); compare Old English ā tō fēore ("ever in life").

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