a while back
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Because he's left-footed and because he's a number 10, the Messi comparisons started a while back.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
At a brunch at Kyoko’s apartment a while back, we cooked together, listened to music and made cocktails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
“He’s an amazingly talented guy,” McDonald says of Puth, whom the Doobie Brothers frontman had been eager to write with since a mutual friend suggested it a while back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
“I remember one a while back that was a roller and those are scary because they keep going on, but this was a quick hit, was over and that’s it.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
The school had abandoned uniforms a while back, but the dress code was still pretty strict.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
