sometime

[ suhm-tahym ]

/ ˈsʌmˌtaɪm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sometime ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

at some indefinite or indeterminate point of time: He will arrive sometime next week.

at an indefinite future time: Come to see me sometime.

Archaic. sometimes; on some occasions.

Archaic. at one time; formerly.

adjective

having been formerly; former: The diplomat was a sometime professor of history at Oxford.

being so only at times or to some extent: Traveling so much, he could never be more than a sometime husband.

that cannot be depended upon regarding affections or loyalties: He was well rid of his sometime girlfriend.

Nearby words

something like, something of a, something or other, something tells me, something thing, a, sometime, sometimes, someway, somewhat, somewhen, somewhere

Origin of sometime

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at some, time

Can be confused

sometime sometimes (see usage note at the current entry)

Usage note

The adverb sometime is written as one word: He promised to paint the garage sometime soon. The two-word form some time means “an unspecified interval or period of time”: It will take some time for the wounds to heal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sometime

On Christmas Day, sometime after dark, a hideous fire overtook the venue: 100 firefighters, 33 fire trucks, a four-alarm blaze.
The Fiery Death of Sotto Sotto, Toronto’s Celebrity Hotspot|Shinan Govani|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to police sources, was believed to have visited New York City sometime last week.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish|M.L. Nestel|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Say sometime in 2017, President Clinton misses getting some progressive bill passed in the Senate by two votes.
The Dems’ Midterm Performance Anxiety|Michael Tomasky|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hendo looks on track to meet their Kickstarter goal of $250,000 sometime Wednesday afternoon, just one day after their launch.
The Hoverboard is (Finally Almost) Real|Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I went to rehab in 2009, so that video is from sometime in April 2009.
Tom Sizemore’s Revenge: On Tom Cruise’s Scientology Recruitment, Drugs, and Craving a Comeback|Marlow Stern|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She who gives her heart, for this poor price, will sometime awake to a sense of her delusion.
The Young Maiden|A. B. (Artemas Bowers) Muzzey
Marston saw Wyndham run aft and push the Kroo from the wheel, but this was the last he saw clearly for sometime.
Wyndham's Pal|Harold Bindloss
I take it then that sometime after November 3, you left Dallas?
Warren Commission (11 of 26): Hearings Vol. XI (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
And does she not then lie trembling at the thought that she may sometime be swallowed up in a tremendous flow of lava?
Our Little Hawaiian Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
When your heart awakens, as it surely will sometime, you will know how cruel you have been to me.
Miss Dexie|Stanford Eveleth

British Dictionary definitions for sometime

sometime

/ (ˈsʌmˌtaɪm) /

adverb

at some unspecified point of time

adjective

(prenominal) having been at one time; formerthe sometime President

(prenominal) US occasional; infrequent

usage

The form sometime should not be used to refer to a fairly long period of time: he has been away for some time (not for sometime)

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