# once

Pronunciation: say "WUNS" /wʌn(t)s/

## Adverb

1. On a single occasion; one time and no more.
   - Simple: Just one time and no more.
   - _The festival happens only once a year, so we never miss it._
   - _She read the letter once and then tore it into pieces._
3. At some time in the past; formerly, with the sense that it is no longer so.
   - Simple: At some time in the past, but not now.
   - _The quiet street was once the busiest market in the city._
   - _He was once a celebrated tenor, though few now remember him._
4. At any time; ever, used within a conditional or hypothetical clause to mark indefinite time.
   - Simple: At any time at all, used in sentences with 'if'.
   - _Should the enemy once suspect a trap, the whole plan would collapse._
   - _He warned that if the rumor once took hold, no denial could stop it._

## Conjunction

2. From the moment that; as soon as; after a stated event has taken place.
   - Simple: After something happens or is finished.
   - _Once the contract is signed, the work can begin immediately._
   - _The engine runs smoothly once it has warmed up._

## Adverb

5. At some time in the future; one day, someday, pointing to an anticipated but unfixed moment. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: On some day in the future that is not yet fixed.

## Other meanings

- (adverb) Multiplied by one; taken a single time over, as a number is read in a multiplication table.

## Origin

From Middle English ones, from Old English ānes, a reshaping (after ān, "one") of ǣnes, itself formed from ǣne ("once") with the genitive suffix -es. It is related to Old Saxon ēnes, Old High German eines/einēst, and modern German einst, all meaning "once".

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