How to Use once in a Sentence

once

1 of 3 adverb
Definition of oncenext
Synonyms for oncenext
  • It was once done that way.
  • He didn't look at me once.
  • She didn't once thank me.
  • The play was performed only once.
  • I will repeat the question once.
  • A river once flowed through this canyon.
  • It was once a booming mining town.
  • Their music was once very popular.
  • The cub played with the rodent, even tossing it into the air once.
    — Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Jan. 2024
  • So far, his team has been swept by both the 49ers and Rams and has lost once to Seattle.
    — Bob McManaman, The Arizona Republic, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Phoenix will once again play host for the Women's Final Four in 2026.
    — Jenna Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Try not to get in your own way once this round of applause arrives.
    — Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
  • The Zoom classes are 30 minutes, once a week and are open to anyone.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 13 May 2023
  • Foster is in contention once again for a SAG Award this year.
    — Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Today, the court once again walked away from decades of precedent, as the dissent has made clear.
    — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 29 June 2023
  • And once fully charged, the vacuum can run for a max of 25 minutes.
    — Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2024
  • The prospect of Diaz fighting Paul once seemed laughable.
    — Josh Peter, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2023
  • As the new, gray wall has taken shape, artists have begun to once again add color.
    — Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024
  • Yogurt, for instance, was once just full-fat or non-fat.
    — Lauren Manaker, Health, 16 June 2023
  • And Herro, who reached 20 points only once during the losing streak, has done it three times in the past four games.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
  • The state-of-the-art theater, once a source of immense collective pride, is now a poisonous wedge.
    — Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Sep. 2023
  • And so, what once took your breath away becomes part of life’s furniture.
    — TIME, 22 Feb. 2024
  • But the team with the worst record got the top pick only once and that led the league to implementing a weighted system.
    — Brian Mahoney, Chron, 13 May 2023
  • To do a spot test, simply apply a small amount to the back of the wrist once a day for a few days and wait five to six days for a reaction.
    — Sabrina Talbert, Women's Health, 12 July 2023
  • Prince Louis once again stole the show at a major royal, as the five-year-old attended Trooping the Colour.
    — Quinci Legardye, Harper's BAZAAR, 17 June 2023
  • And the raw spots marking where old blisters had once been started healing.
    — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Oct. 2023
  • Trevor Noah will once again serve as the Grammys’ host, his fourth year in a row taking on hosting duties.
    — Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The addition of 7-foot-3-inch Kristaps Porzingis, a once and perhaps future unicorn, has made that a truth.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023
  • That excitement was short-lived once newcomer Linzy picked Louis to go on a date.
    — Temi Adebowale, Men's Health, 22 July 2023
  • Large frames also hung on the walls, which the Israeli military said once displayed maps.
    — Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024
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once

2 of 3 noun
  • Please be on time just this once.
  • For once you seem to know what I'm talking about.
  • I have tried Indian food more than once.
  • Just want to give that wrinkly dress of yours the once over?
    — Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2021
  • The plates are large enough to grill up to four burger patties at a once, cutting the usual cook time in half.
    — Sanah Faroke, PEOPLE.com, 13 July 2021
  • In a once in a lifetime event, the night sky on Wednesday will be both the brightest and darkest ever seen.
    — Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 23 May 2021
  • The renewal comes just under a month after Life & Beth’s all-at-once release.
    — Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Apr. 2022
  • Voyager is a once in a lifetime, and perhaps many lifetimes, mission.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The all-at-once release model that Netflix pioneered gave users the freedom to consume TV at their own pace.
    — John Jurgensen, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022
  • The binge-it-all-at-once model, for example, is no longer inviolable.
    — Andy Meek, BGR, 19 June 2022
  • The upside of it is that you may be rewarded with a once in a lifetime buck that has probably never seen a human being.
    — Hal Blood, Outdoor Life, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Even harder is getting into the under-the-radar private shows the Stones play a once or twice each tour, which are usually arranged by a billionaire and held in a tiny venue.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Experts recommend giving your fridge the once over every week, especially the crispers and the meat storage areas.
    — Terry Baddoo, USA TODAY, 10 May 2022
  • This is a once in a generation opportunity to build school buildings that meet the needs of this century.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021
  • Daybell, who has also been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder and insurance fraud in the death of his once-wife Tammy Daybell, is due in court next week.
    — NBC News, 26 May 2021
  • This is a once in a lifetime shift away from legacy television measurement and opens the door to solve decades old problems that have plagued the advertising ecosystem.
    — Brad Adgate, Forbes, 21 Sep. 2021
  • Temporary hair loss, caused by events like chemotherapy, stress, or post-pregnancy, may clear up on its own once circumstances change.
    — Beth Shapouri, Allure, 31 Aug. 2021
  • The last thing that Biden wants, however, is yet more confrontations with his once and potentially future rival.
    — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 26 Oct. 2021
  • The Prime Video series returns on Feb. 18 with a new release strategy, opting for two-episode increments every week rather than the all-at-once binge of previous seasons.
    — Jason Newman, Rolling Stone, 2 Dec. 2021
  • The pandemic has presented us with a once in a lifetime opportunity to reimagine the future of retail, and retailers should grab it with both hands.
    — Alliance Manchester Business School, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2021
  • For Andrea Berstler, operating a library during a pandemic has proven to a unique and a once in a lifetime experience.
    — Yasmine Askari, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 8 Mar. 2021
  • Wembanyama is a once in a lifetime prospect, who could feasibly turn a team's fortunes around by becoming one of the most productive two-way centers in all of basketball.
    — Morten Jensen, Forbes, 31 July 2022
  • Originally used to provide horse stables for the once grander homes on surrounding streets, the Mews is currently a mishmash of 10 or so, now-pricey, two-story Victorian row homes.
    — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 4 May 2021
  • In many newsrooms, including at the once staunchly anti-union Los Angeles Times, journalists have organized in order to gain a degree of control over their lives.
    — Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein, The New Republic, 4 Jan. 2021
  • But with bigger crowds and first-time visitors modeling other travelers’ behaviors, even small just-this-once choices can add up.
    — Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 11 Mar. 2022
  • As a matter of public relations, all-at-once reveals invite unnecessary risks.
    — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Survivor was a once in a lifetime opportunity, being an attorney could wait!
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Disney Plus, for example, has moved more of its episodic unscripted programming to an all-at-once release strategy based on viewing data.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 Sep. 2021
  • During a once in a lifetime pandemic when people were desperate for information, CNN and every other network took the briefings live.
    — Fox News, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Zerlang shared his experiences with the once in a century transformational pandemic induced segue into a remote and hybrid workstyle.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2022
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once

3 of 3 adjective
  • Weeds now wind through the paving stones at the once grand entrance.
    — Ruth Eglash, Washington Post, 29 June 2020
  • As many as a third of Venezuelans in the once oil-rich nation were eating just one meal a day, according to a 2019 study.
    — Ingrid Cotto, orlandosentinel.com, 8 Apr. 2021
  • Tents were pitched by people using the once grand station lobby as a shelter.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2021
  • His eyes were practically swollen shut, and his once-red comb was black — a possible sign, McKillop said, of loss of blood flow.
    — Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2017
  • All around him, a heavy blanket of smoke camouflaged the once pristine lake with a gray and brown haze that made the water difficult to see even from just a few feet away.
    — NBC News, 12 Sep. 2021
  • For now the once globe-trotting Ghosn is stuck in Lebanon, unable to travel overseas without risking arrest and a return to Japan.
    — Reuters, CNN, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Natasha and Yelena resolve to topple Dreykov and the Red Room, a mission that requires them to reconnect with their once parents.
    — Jake Coyle, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
  • Two grandchildren are also part of the once-family business.
    — Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2021
  • Anne Boelyn, the once queen of England, was informally accused of witchcraft.
    — Brooklyn White, Essence, 13 Aug. 2021
  • Brazil meanwhile were beaten by hosts France in the last 16; a disappointing but not unexpected finish from a once world class squad.
    — SI.com, 4 Oct. 2019
  • Tech will be at the heart of the once office-centric workplace and good communication will be key as companies make this transition.
    — USA Today, 20 Apr. 2021
  • In recent years, a once-fringe theory — dubbed the Big Bounce — has gained traction in cosmological circles.
    — Gabe Allen, Discover Magazine, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Over the past two decades plus there's been an incredible amount of amazing horror programming that has totally changed the landscape of how viewers enjoy the once niche genre.
    — Rosie Knight, refinery29.com, 24 Sep. 2020
  • Over the last few decades, its once majority of white workers were replaced with immigrants who together speak more than 80 languages.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2020
  • The once-rockstar software developer, instead of coding, spends the day managing the minutiae of the daily workflow.
    — Jack Kelly, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023
  • And Michigan's gone through spring drills without a clear answer of who will realistically be the front-runner once summer begins.
    — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, 12 Apr. 2018
  • The once symbol of American manufacturing has struggled in recent years and has sold off parts of its business to try and stabilize its operations.
    — Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Exploration and production company shares are on fire, and debt and equity markets are reopening for the once downtrodden sector.
    — Dan Eberhart, Forbes, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Growth is accelerating as the network effect has built on WhatsApp’s exodus, catapulting the once niche player into the majors.
    — Zak Doffman, Forbes, 4 May 2021
  • Now, with the once-bedroom communities of Herriman and Copperton, for example, growing, even booming, the transportation plans are becoming outdated.
    — Alixel Cabrera, The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 Apr. 2022
  • In the three months since its inauguration, Netanyahu’s government — cobbled together with once-fringe ultranationalist and ultraconservative religious parties — has led to a period of national division and security crisis, defense officials say.
    — Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2023
  • Weeds now wind through the paving stones at the once grand entrance.
    — Ruth Eglash, Washington Post, 29 June 2020
  • As many as a third of Venezuelans in the once oil-rich nation were eating just one meal a day, according to a 2019 study.
    — Ingrid Cotto, orlandosentinel.com, 8 Apr. 2021
  • Tents were pitched by people using the once grand station lobby as a shelter.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2021
  • His eyes were practically swollen shut, and his once-red comb was black — a possible sign, McKillop said, of loss of blood flow.
    — Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2017
  • All around him, a heavy blanket of smoke camouflaged the once pristine lake with a gray and brown haze that made the water difficult to see even from just a few feet away.
    — NBC News, 12 Sep. 2021
  • For now the once globe-trotting Ghosn is stuck in Lebanon, unable to travel overseas without risking arrest and a return to Japan.
    — Reuters, CNN, 2 Mar. 2022
  • Natasha and Yelena resolve to topple Dreykov and the Red Room, a mission that requires them to reconnect with their once parents.
    — Jake Coyle, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
  • Two grandchildren are also part of the once-family business.
    — Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2021
  • Anne Boelyn, the once queen of England, was informally accused of witchcraft.
    — Brooklyn White, Essence, 13 Aug. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'once.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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