Meaning of at once in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Adverb
    1. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    US accent

    UK accent

  1. Adverb

    at once

    Definitions

    1. without delay or hesitation

    Examples

    • « with no time intervening »
    • « he answered immediately »
    • « found an answer straightaway »
    • « an official accused of dishonesty should be suspended forthwith »
    • « Come here now! »
  2. 2. simultaneously

    Examples

    • « he took three cookies at a time »

Famous quotes

  • « The wise does at once what the fool does at last. »
    Baltasar Gracian
  • « All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once! »
    Camille Paglia
  • « Money, again, has often been a cause of the delusion of the multitudes. Sober nations have all at once become desperate gamblers, and risked almost their existence upon the turn of a piece of paper. »
    Charles Mackay
  • « If there existed no external means for dimming their consciences, one-half of the men would at once shoot themselves, because to live contrary to one's reason is a most intolerable state, and all men of our time are in such a state. »
    Leo Tolstoy
  • « There's already a marriage clock, a career clock, a biological clock. Sometimes being a woman feels like standing in the lobby of a hotel, looking at the dials depicting every time zone in the world behind the front desk - except they all apply to you, and all at once. »
    Sloane Crosley

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