Definition of 'now'
3. conjunction
You use now or now that to indicate that an event has occurred and as a result something else may or will happen.
5. adverb
In stories and accounts of past events, now is used to refer to the particular time that is being written or spoken about.
6. adverb [ADVERB with verb, noun ADVERB]
You use now in statements which specify the length of time up to the present that something has lasted.
7. adverb
8. adverb [ADVERB cl]
9. adverb
10. adverb
11. adverb
12.
See now and again
13.
14.
See now for
15.
See just now
16.
See just now
17.
18.
See now, now
19.
See now, now
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
now in British English
adverb
1.
at or for the present time or moment
2.
at this exact moment; immediately
3.
in these times; nowadays
5. (preceded by just)
very recently
she left just now
7. See now and again
8. See for now
9. See now now!
10. See now then
conjunction
11. (subordinating; often foll by that)
seeing that; since it has become the case that
now you're in charge, things will be better
sentence connector
noun
13.
the present moment or time
now is the time to go
adjective
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English nū; compare Old Saxon nū, German nun, Latin nunc, Greek nuWord Frequency
NOW in American English
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
now in American English
adverb
1.
a.
at the present time; at this moment
b.
at once
2.
at the time referred to; then; next
now his joy began
3.
at a time very close to the present
; specif.,
b.
very soon
often with just they are leaving just now
4.
given the situation; with things as they are
now we'll never know what happened
conjunction
5.
since; seeing that
now you've arrived, I can stop worrying
noun
6.
the present time
that's all for now
adjective
7.
of the present or current time
the now generation
interjection
9.
now, I'd been waiting a long time for a chance to get even with him
10.
now, now—it's not so bad after all!
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME < OE nu, akin to ON Goth, OHG nu < IE base *nu- > Gr nu, L nuncWord Frequency
now in American English
(nau)
adverb
1.
at the present time or moment
You are now using a dictionary
3.
at this time or juncture in some period under consideration or in some course of proceedings described
The case was now ready for the jury
4.
at the time or moment immediately past
I saw him just now on the street
5.
in these present times; nowadays
Now you rarely see horse-drawn carriages
9. See now and again
10. See now that
noun
12.
the present time or moment
Up to now no one has volunteered
adjective
13.
the now look
the now generation
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
nowness noun
Word origin
[bef. 900; 1965–70 for def. 13; ME; OE nū, c. ON, Goth nū; akin to G nun, L num, Skt nu, Gk nú, nûn]Word Frequency
NOW in American English
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Examples of 'now' in a sentence
now
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Trends of
now
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In other languages
now
- American English: now /ˈnaʊ/
- Arabic: الآن
- Brazilian Portuguese: agora
- Chinese: 现在
- Croatian: sada
- Czech: nyní
- Danish: nu
- Dutch: nu
- European Spanish: ahora
- Finnish: nyt
- French: maintenant
- German: jetzt
- Greek: τώρα
- Italian: ora
- Japanese: 今
- Korean: 지금
- Norwegian: nå
- Polish: teraz
- European Portuguese: agora
- Romanian: acum
- Russian: сейчас
- Latin American Spanish: ahora
- Swedish: nu
- Thai: เดี๋ยวนี้
- Turkish: şimdi
- Ukrainian: тепер
- Vietnamese: bây giờ
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now
Source
Definition of now from the Collins English Dictionary
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