always
Americanadverb
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every time; on every occasion; without exception.
He always works on Saturday.
- Synonyms:
- consistently, regularly
-
all the time; continuously; uninterruptedly.
There is always some pollution in the air.
- Synonyms:
- unceasingly, perpetually, constantly
-
Will you always love me?
-
in any event; at any time; if necessary.
She can always move back with her parents.
adverb
-
without exception; on every occasion; every time
he always arrives on time
-
continually; repeatedly
-
in any case
you could always take a day off work
-
informal for ever; without end
our marriage is for always
Related Words
Both always and ever refer to uniform or perpetual continuance. Always often expresses or implies repetition as producing the uniformity or continuance: The sun always rises in the east. Ever implies an unchanging sameness throughout: Natural law is ever to be reckoned with.
Etymology
Origin of always
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English alwayes, alleweyes, alles weis, alteration of alle wey alway
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.
Summer activities have always played a role in college admissions, but now “it’s like a train that’s taken off and gotten faster and faster and faster,” she said.
The Mona Lisa is always on display at the Louvre, Michelangelo’s David in Florence.
“The No. 1 thing on my list is and always will be: Vote,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights and Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law.
From Los Angeles Times
“When he goes back home, it’s always hard to reconnect with his place and his family, all of the things that changed while he was away. That’s basically my life.”
From Los Angeles Times
“I wasn’t always considered one of the top,” Glenn said, “so I never thought that I’d be skating past, like, 20 years old or something because you don’t usually see that.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
