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
At once upon a time, Athan and Marcus were roommates.
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Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 18 July 2024
These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
Anacapri: Smaller, and, once upon a time quieter Anacapri is reached by bus or taxi from Capri.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2024
Though the FreeDOS team had more ambitious plans once upon a time, the main reason FreeDOS exists is to run classic DOS programs and games, like Commander Keen.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for once upon a time 
Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 18 July 2024
These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 18 July 2024
Anacapri: Smaller, and, once upon a time quieter Anacapri is reached by bus or taxi from Capri.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2024
Though the FreeDOS team had more ambitious plans once upon a time, the main reason FreeDOS exists is to run classic DOS programs and games, like Commander Keen.
—Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 29 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for once upon a time
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'once upon a time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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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 21 Sep. 2024.
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