At once

Learn the English expression, "At once"

"At once" is an English expression with two meanings.

First, it can mean to do something immediately, without any delay or waiting. If someone has a medical emergency, you might say, "Call a doctor at once!" That means, call a doctor right now, without waiting. When people use "at once" like this, there's always some urgency in their voices.

Here's the second meaning. "At once" can also mean to do two or more things at the same time. If you make a careless mistake at work, it might be because you were trying to do too many things at once (too many things at the same time).

So here are your two meanings. If something has to happen immediately, do it at once. And if you do two things at the same time, you do two things at once.

--

Practice: Read the transcript of this episode, take a quiz, and practice using "At once": https://plainenglish.com/expressions/at-once

---

Like this episode? Sign up to our free e-mail course on English expressions: https://plainenglish.com/essential-expressions-course

--

What is Plain English? Plain English is the modern way to upgrade your English skills with short English lessons. No time for long classes? No problem. Our lessons are short, interactive, and fun. They help you improve your English listening, learn new words, and speak English with more confidence.

Sign up for free at: https://PlainEnglish.com/

Or subscribe to our English-learning podcast about current events and trending topics: https://plain-english.captivate.fm/listen

Mentioned in this episode:

Leave us a rating or review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave us a rating, a review, or a comment in your podcast app.
This is the best way you can say "THANK YOU" for this free podcast. It will help spread the word so we can teach you even more English expressions.