already
Americanadverb
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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.
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now; so soon; so early.
Is it noon already?
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Informal. (used as an intensifier to express exasperation or impatience).
Let's go already!
adverb
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by or before a stated or implied time
he is already here
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at a time earlier than expected
is it ten o'clock already?
Commonly Confused
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? ).
Etymology
Origin of already
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”)
Explanation
Things that happened already are in the past, as in "Stop nagging me! I already cleaned my room." If you did something already, you did it in the past, whether an hour ago or a year ago. A team trying for its second championship already won a championship. A kid who ate cake first has already eaten dessert. If you've never done it, then you can't say you already did it. This word often gets used in exasperated tones, as in "Take out the garbage! I already told you ten times!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That process has been most successful in neighborhoods that already have anchor assets to support demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Their replica shirts cost £55, but Spirit have already exhausted the supply they had earmarked for both 2026 and 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told AFP Sunday that two water-bombing aircraft had arrived from Sweden, backing up four helicopters -- two Belgian and two Dutch -- already on site.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
This version leans hard into fresh corn, still in its cool green husks and already smelling sweet before you cut it from the cob.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
“I’ve already started to work on something,” he says.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
