until

American  

[uhn-til] / ʌnˈtɪl /

conjunction

1. up to the time that or when; till.

   He read until his guests arrived.

2. before (usually used in negative constructions).

   They did not come until the meeting was half over.

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preposition

1. onward to or till (a specified time or occurrence).

   She worked until 6 p.m.

2. before (usually used in negative constructions).

   He did not go until night.

3. Scot. and North England. to; unto.

until British  

/ ʌnˈtɪl /

conjunction

1. up to (a time) that

   he laughed until he cried

2. (used with a negative) before (a time or event)

   until you change, you can't go out

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preposition

1. (often preceded by up) in or throughout the period before

   he waited until six

2. (used with a negative) earlier than; before

   he won't come until tomorrow

until Idioms  

1. see put off until tomorrow; talk one's arm off (until blue in the face). Also see under till.

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Usage

The use of until such time as (as in industrial action will continue until such time as our demands are met ) is unnecessary and should be avoided: industrial action will continue until our demands are met

Commonly Confused

See till ¹.

Etymology

Origin of until

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English untill, from un- (from Old Norse unz “up to, as far as”) + till till ¹

Example Sentences

"VAT, we're paying more than anywhere in Europe. Small independent businesses can't afford it. We're sad to be another statistic, but that's what we are. And until anybody pays any attention to that, nothing's going to change."

From BBC

Until February 2024, Magyar was very much part of the Fidesz family.

From BBC

Until now, none of the accusations and barbs directed at Peter Magyar have stuck.

From BBC

Mr. Pacino had to redo the scene multiple times “until he regained the appropriate vivacity. A technician was then asked to remind him of his character’s age in each scene.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"Until now, efficient detection of superpositions of two pulses -- earlier and later -- was possible. We went a step further: we are interested in cases with more time bins, ranging from two to four or even more," adds Dr. Karpiński.

From Science Daily