once upon a time
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.
“What kept them once upon a time, and still does, was/is sheer breadth, i.e. ‘always having something to watch.’
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
The author drops us into an Eden of wonder, where once upon a time we first cracked the codes of Dr. Seuss and “Goodnight Moon.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
Neil Findlay was a Labour MSP once upon a time.
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025
It seems like ancient history now, but once upon a time, there was a little backdoor pilot that dreamed of growing up to be a full-fledged reality television spectacle.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2025
Maybe once upon a time I was a little jealous of Leah and Adah, being twins.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
