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

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Just as once upon a time books were brought From Constantinople to the northern lands, The voices of wise men in the wild lands Will become a source of creative power. —

Czeslaw Milosz, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025 Get the Recipe 16 of 25 Best-Ever Macaroni and Cheese While now the mac and cheese queen is likely one auntie or another, once upon a time, this was Grandma's specialty. —

Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 1 Jan. 2025 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 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 30 Jan. 2025.

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