since

[ sins ]

adverb

1. from then till now (often preceded by ever ):

   He was elected in 1978 and has been president ever since.

2. between a particular past time and the present; subsequently:

   She at first refused, but has since consented.

3. before now; ago:

   long since.

preposition

1. continuously from or counting from:

   It has been warm since noon.

2. between a past time or event and the present:

   There have been many changes since the war.

conjunction

1. in the period following the time when:

   He has written once since he left.

2. continuously from or counting from the time when:

   He has been busy since he came.

3. because; inasmuch as:

   Since you're already here, you might as well stay.

since

/ sɪns /

preposition

1. during or throughout the period of time after

   since May it has only rained once

conjunction

1. sometimes preceded by ever continuously from or starting from the time when

   since we last met, important things have happened

2. seeing that; because

   since you have no money, you can't come

adverb

1. since that time

   he left yesterday and I haven't seen him since

Usage Note

See as ¹.

Usage

See ago

Word History and Origins

Origin of since¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English (adverb) syns, sinnes “thereupon, afterwards,” Middle English (adverb and conjunction) sithenes “afterwards, from (the specified time), because,” equivalent to sithen “after that, since” ( Old English siththan, originally sīth thām “after that”) + -es; sith, -s ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of since¹

Old English sīththan, literally: after that; related to Old High German sīd since, Latin sērus late

Idioms and Phrases

see greatest thing since sliced bread .

Example Sentences

In the week since President-elect Donald Trump's victory, the transgender rights organization Advocates for Trans Equality has seen an uptick in the number of community members reaching out in search of resources.

From Salon

Some Democrats have since sought to blame the party's losses on its defense of transgender protections.

From Salon

Since Trump's win last week, A4TE has ramped up its efforts to protect transgender Americans and help the community prepare for the potential rollbacks in protections under his administration.

From Salon

Williams, who has since forged a successful solo career, also used his post to speak more generally about the pressures of being in a boyband.

From BBC

An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth's total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• afterward
• ago
• already
• later
• therefore

When To Use

What are other ways to say since?

The conjunction since means “because” or “inasmuch as.” How is it different from because, as, for, and inasmuch as? Find out on Thesaurus.com.