Meanings
- In a single, continuous period of time.
He manages to abstain from smoking for weeks at a time, but then gives in and starts again.
Synonyms: in a row, at a stretch
- Simultaneously at each occurrence (of some action).
climb stairs two at a time
1 more example
The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track.[…]Their example was followed by others at a time when the master of Mohair was superintending in person the docking of some two-year-olds, and equally invisible.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 58–59Synonyms: at once
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseIn a single, continuous period of time.
prepositional phraseSimultaneously at each occurrence (of some action).
antonym(s) of “simultaneously at each occurrence”
More synonyms by meaning
adverbsimultaneously
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Catalan a la vegada
- a la vegadasimultaneously
Danish ad gangen, ad gangen
- ad gangenin a continuous period
- ad gangensimultaneously
Dutch tegelijk
- tegelijkin a continuous period
Esperanto -ope, samtempe
- -opein a continuous period
- samtempein a continuous period
- samtempesimultaneously
Finnish kerrallaan
- kerrallaanin a continuous period
French à la fois
- à la foisin a continuous period
Hungarian egyhuzamban, egyvégtében
- egyhuzambanin a continuous period
- egyvégtébenin a continuous period
- megszakítás nélkülin a continuous period
- -esévelsimultaneously
- -asávalsimultaneously
- -osávalsimultaneously
- -ösévelsimultaneously
Italian alla volta, per volta
- alla voltain a continuous period
- per voltain a continuous period
Polish naraz
- narazsimultaneously
Portuguese por vez
- por vezsimultaneously
Slovak za sebou, po sebe
- za sebouin a continuous period
- po sebein a continuous period
- narazin a continuous period
- narazsimultaneously
- spolusimultaneously
Spanish a la vez, a la vez
- a la vezin a continuous period
- a la vezsimultaneously
Swedish i taget
- i tagetsimultaneously
Welsh fesul
- fesulsimultaneously
Cite this entry
at a time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20a%20time
“at a time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20a%20time. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at a time,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20a%20time.
Source: at a time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.