already

[ awl-red-ee ]
See synonyms for already on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. by this or that time; prior to or at some specified or implied time; previously: When we came in, we found they had already arrived.

  2. now; so soon; so early: Is it noon already?

  1. Informal. (used as an intensifier to express exasperation or impatience): Let's go already!

Origin of already

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English al redy “all ready”; what originally meant “completely (all) ready” and modified the subject (The porter all ready was there) was taken adverbially as modifying the predicate (The porter already was there, meaning “from an earlier time”)

confusables note For already

Although already and all ready are often indistinguishable in speech, the written forms have distinct meanings and uses. The phrase all ready means “entirely ready” or “prepared” ( I was all ready to leave on vacation ). Already means “previously” ( The plane had already left the airport ) or “so soon” ( Is it lunchtime already? ).

Words Nearby already

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use already in a sentence

  • The big room at King's Warren Parsonage was already fairly well filled.

  • Five of the number had studied with Liszt before, and the young men are artists already before the public.

  • I want to see the sort of thing happening to schools that has already happened to many sorts of retail shops.

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
  • Now what should college give the young citizen, male or female, upon the foundation of schooling we have already sketched out?

    The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
  • This system, as already stated, became operative in most districts during June, 1915.

    Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for already

already

/ (ɔːlˈrɛdɪ) /


adverb
  1. by or before a stated or implied time: he is already here

  2. at a time earlier than expected: is it ten o'clock already?

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012