Meanings
- The hour being what it is; the hour being so advanced; considering that it is so far in time already; now that so much time has elapsed; if not before, now at the latest.
By now an angry crowd had collected outside.
4 more examples
Near-synonyms: already, at this stage, at this point
My parents ought to've arrived by now. I wonder what's keeping them.
Totally overwhelmed by now, I started to hand out the fliers willy-nilly.
No doubt you will have heard the news by now.
Synonyms: already, at this stage, at this point
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseThe hour being what it is; the hour being so advanced; considering that it is so far in time already; now that so much time has elapsed; if not before, now at the latest.
Origin
See by, sense 3: “not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval)”.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch onderhand
- onderhandTranslations
Finnish tähän mennessä
- tähän mennessäTranslations
French à cette heure, à l'heure qu'il est
- à cette heureTranslations
- à l'heure qu'il estTranslations
Italian ormai
- ormaiTranslations
Japanese 今頃
- 今頃 (imagoro)Translations
Polish do tej pory, teraz
- do tej poryTranslations
- terazTranslations
- jużTranslations
Portuguese a essa hora, já
- a essa horaTranslations
- jáTranslations
- a esta alturaTranslations
Spanish ya, a estas alturas
- yaTranslations
- a estas alturasTranslations
Swedish vid det här laget
- vid det här lagetTranslations
Welsh erbyn hyn
- erbyn hynTranslations
Cite this entry
by now. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20now
“by now.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20now. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by now,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20now.
Source: by now on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.