one time

English

Adverb

one time (not comparable)

1. (informal) Used to introduce a narrative concerning a past event

   Synonym: once

   • 1843, George Payne Rainsford James, The Commissioner: Or, De Lunatico Inquirendo, page 186:

     Her eyes would suddenly become fixed on the other side of the room, and for a moment or two she would seem bewildered and absent. One time I was watching her in this state, when her husband took me by the arm and said, 'Come away, Tom.'

   • 1855, John Lewis, New Hope: Or, The Rescue. A Tale of the Great Kanawha, page 167:

     One time we cotch four hunderd and fifty thousand at one haul.

   • 2008, Benjamin Drevlow, Bend with the Knees: And Other Love Advice from My Father‎^[1], page 14:

     One time I untied the boat as we were leaving, started to yell Lines off, deckhand on […] .

   • 2009, Elmore Leonard, Forty Lashes Less One, page 24:

     One time he hadn't held onto himself—the time he worked for the Sedona cattle people up on Oak Creek—and it was the reason he was here.

   • 2020, Christine Trueman, See You Again, One Time in Saint Helena:

     So, one time, he didn't come back, and didn't come back, and his dinner got cold. When he did come back eventually, he brought a tray of cakes for our girls. Know what I did?” / I shook my head. / “I took the tray from him and threw it all over the garden for the goats and chickens. I was so mad.

Related terms

• at one time
• once

References

• “one time”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.