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then

Pronunciation: /ðɛn/
Translate then | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of then

adverb

  • 1at that time; at the time in question:I was living in Cairo then [after preposition]:Phoebe by then was exhausted [as adjective]:he accepted a peerage from the then Prime Minister, Edward Heath
  • 2after that; next; afterwards:she won the first and then the second game
  • also; in addition:I’m paid a generous salary, and then there’s the money I’ve made at the races
  • 3in that case; therefore:if you do what I tell you, then there’s nothing to worry about well, that’s okay then
  • used at the end of a sentence to emphasize an inference being drawn:so you’re still here then
  • used to finish off a conversation:see you in an hour then

Phrases

then and there

immediately: she made up her mind then and there

Origin:

Old English thænne, thanne, thonne, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dan and German dann, also to that and the

Grammar

This has three uses: adverb:I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. conjunction:The President spoke and spoke well, then sat down. adjective (less common):The advice on bending the rules came from the then Defence Minister, Alan Clark.

then in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of then in the US English dictionary
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