once upon a time

idiom

: at some time in the past

He was a famous actor once upon a time.

Note: Once upon a time is the traditional way to begin a fairy tale.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Snow White.

Examples of once upon a time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

But once upon a time, there were a hundred ways to get from A to B, or a thousand. —

Rachel Kushner, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024 But once upon a time, even that song 'Viva La Vida' was new and everyone in the room was like, 'What the f--- is this? —

Rachel Desantis, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024 But once upon a time, politicos were a popular choice. —

Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024 Loe Shimmy: Zombieland 2 (DJ Fetti Fee Fast Edition) Lamar Jackson’s third MVP should be putting on Loe Shimmy, who was once upon a time the budding star of the quarterback’s record label, Lamar Jackson Entertainment. —

Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 9 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for once upon a time

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“Once upon a time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/once%20upon%20a%20time. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

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