now
[nou]
- at the present time or moment: You are now using a dictionary.
- without further delay; immediately; at once: Either do it now or not at all.
- at this time or juncture in some period under consideration or in some course of proceedings described: The case was now ready for the jury.
- at the time or moment immediately past: I saw him just now on the street.
- in these present times; nowadays: Now you rarely see horse-drawn carriages.
- under the present or existing circumstances; as matters stand: I see now what you meant.
- (used to introduce a statement or question): Now, you don't really mean that.
- (used to strengthen a command, entreaty, or the like): Now stop that!
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- inasmuch as; since: Now you're here, why not stay for dinner?
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- the present time or moment: Up to now no one has volunteered.
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- up-to-the-minute; encompassing the latest ideas, fads, or fashions: the now look; the now generation.
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- now and again, occasionally.Also now and then.
- now that, inasmuch as; since: Now that she is rich and famous, she is constantly being besieged by appeals for aid.
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Origin of now
before 900; 1965–70 for def 11; Middle English; Old English nū, cognate with Old Norse, Gothic nū; akin to German nun, Latin num, Sanskrit nu, Greek nú, nûn
NOW
[nou]
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
today, straightaway, forthwith, directly, immediately, instantly, nowadays, away, momentarily, promptly, pronto, soon, PDQ, instanter, presentlyExamples from the Web for now
Contemporary Examples
Submission is set in a France seven years from now that is dominated by a Muslim president intent on imposing Islamic law.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim PresidentPierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
His discourse is now more detailed: submission, which is the meaning of islam in Arabic, gives him a kind of enjoyment.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim PresidentPierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
He looks like a man who should have had kids, but now never will.
And now, similarly, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee: "Bend over and take it like a prisoner!"
I wonder what that lady is doing now, and if she knows what she set in motion with Archer?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISISMarlow Stern
January 8, 2015
Historical Examples
At length the servant returned, saying his master was now ready to see them.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
This trained neutrality of Mrs. Bines served her finely now.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
The reason I write promptly is that you may not go out of the country just now.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Now you and sis never get up with any such light poetic notion as that.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
The impulse that had prompted him to hail her now prompted wild words.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
now
- at or for the present time or moment
- at this exact moment; immediately
- in these times; nowadays
- given the present circumstancesnow we'll have to stay to the end
- (preceded by just) very recentlyhe left just now
- (often preceded by just) very soonhe is leaving just now
- now and again, now and then, every now and again or every now and then occasionally; on and off
- for now for the time being
- now now! (interjection) an exclamation used to rebuke or pacify someone
- now then
- (sentence connector)used to preface an important remark, the next step in an argument, etc
- (interjection)an expression of mild reproofnow then, don't tease!
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- (subordinating often foll by that) seeing that; since it has become the case thatnow you're in charge, things will be better
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- used as a transitional particle or hesitation wordnow, I can't really say
- used for emphasisnow listen to this
- used at the end of a command, esp in dismissalrun along, now
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- the present moment or timenow is the time to go
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- informal of the moment; fashionablethe now look is street fashion
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Word Origin
Old English nū; compare Old Saxon nū, German nun, Latin nunc, Greek nu
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for now
adv.
Old English nu "now, at present, immediately; now that," also used as an interjection and as an introductory word; common Germanic (cf. Old Norse nu, Dutch nu, Old Frisian nu, German nun, Gothic nu "now"), from PIE *nu "now" (cf. Sanskrit and Avestan nu, Old Persian nuram, Hittite nuwa, Greek nu, nun, Latin nunc, Old Church Slavonic nyne, Lithuanian nu, Old Irish nu-). Perhaps originally "newly, recently," and related to the root of new.
Often merely emphatic; non-temporal usage (cf. Now, then) was in Old English. The adjective meaning "up to date" first recorded 1967, but the word was used also as an adjective in Middle English with the sense "current" from late 14c. Now and then "occasionally" is from 1530s; now or never attested from 1550s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with now
now
In addition to the idioms beginning with now
- now and again
- now or never, it's
- now that
- now you're talking
also see:
- any day (now)
- every now and then
- here and now
- just now
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.