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

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

The platform gave me everything once upon a time, so many years ago. —

Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2024 What’s more, Lorenz is the former director of the Independent Living Resource Center in San Francisco and once upon a time worked with mayor Gavin Newsom’s office in addressing concerns raised with the city about Americans with Disabilities Act complaints. —

Steven Aquino, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024 Hypercars are too hyper to be sports cars, though many supercars qualify, because once upon a time 300 horsepower used to mean something. —

Robert Ross, Robb Report, 28 Sep. 2024 This was the world that 3D printing was supposed to bring forth once upon a time. —

Adriana Lee, WWD, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for once upon a time

Cite this Entry

Style

“Once upon a time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/once%20upon%20a%20time. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation