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sometimes

SUM-tymz/ˈsʌmtaɪmz/

3 meanings of sometimes

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  1. 1
    adverb
    On some occasions or in certain situations, but not all the time.

    She sometimes works late when a deadline is approaching.

    The mountain road is sometimes closed after heavy snowfall.

    UsageUsually before the main verb or at the start: she sometimes works late. Not the same as sometime: call me sometime.

    Similaroccasionally, intermittently, sporadically, irregularly

    Oppositealways, never

  2. 2
    adverbobsolete
    On a particular occasion in the past; once; formerly.
    What art thou that vſurp’ſt this time of night, / Together with that Faire and Warlike forme / In which the Maieſty of buried Denmarke / Did ſometimes march : By Heauen I charge thee ſpeake.
    c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”

    Similaronce, before, previously, formerly

    Note

    Older texts use it for a time in the past. It means "once" or "formerly," not "now and then." In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the ghost wears the form in which buried Denmark "did sometimes march," meaning the late king in life. The 1611 Bible sets it against now: "ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light." Read it as at one time.

  3. 3
    adjectiveobsolete
    Former; that formerly held a particular role or position.
    Farewell old Gaunt, thy ſometimes brothers wife / With her companion Greefe, muſt end her life.
    1595, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”

    Similarerstwhile

    Note

    The adjective stands before a noun to mark a relationship that has ended. In a line Shakespeare wrote around 1595, "thy sometimes brother's wife" means the wife of one who was once your brother. It carries the obsolete "once" adverb into the noun phrase. Modern English fills that slot with sometime or former, so treat this form as a feature of older verse, not one to imitate.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The adjective precedes a noun with the meaning 'former'. en.wiktionary.org
    • Richard II was probably written c. 1595; its composition date is uncertain. It was first printed in 1597. folgerpedia.folger.edu
    • The quoted wording occurs in Shakespeare's Richard II, spoken by the Duchess of Gloucester to John of Gaunt. kingsmenshakespeare.org
    • The phrase refers to the wife of Gaunt's deceased brother. folger.edu
    • Sometimes also had an obsolete adverbial meaning 'once'. en.wiktionary.org

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Origin

Made of sometime plus the adverbial suffix -s, it was spelled sumtymes (also somtymes, som tymes) in Middle English. West Frisian somstiden and Dutch somtijds and somwijlen, all meaning "sometimes", are related.