Meanings
- idiomaticOccasionally; sometimes; once in a while.
On these red embers Hatteraick from time to time threw a handful of twigs.
1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter XXV, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC5 more examples
I'll find out your man, / And he shall signify from time to time / Every good hap to you that chances here.
c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLCBut at my back from time to time I hear / The sound of horns and motors, […]
1922 October, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “Part III. The Fire Sermon.”, in The Waste Land, 1st book edition, New York, N.Y.: Boni and Liveright, published December 1922, →OCLC, page 29, lines 196–197From time to time in both directions the engine was blowing off, so there was no shortness of steam.
1956 October, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 688From time to time the coaches of the Lötschberg Railway itself, which in comfort and décor can rank with the finest in Europe today, travel far from the frontiers of Switzerland on through workings such as these.
1960 December, Cecil J. Allen, “Operating a mountain main line: the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 743 - lawIn whatever status exists at various times.
This is another way of saying that the terms of the individual contracts are in part to be found in the agreed collective agreements as they exist from time to time […]
2015, Richard Painter, Ann Holmes, Cases and Materials on Employment Law, page 90 - obsoleteContinuously from one time to another; at all times, constantly.
So was she trayned vp from time to time, / In all chast vertue, and true bounti-hed / Till to her dew perfection she was ripened.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLCSynonyms: time to time
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseContinuously from one time to another; at all times, constantly.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbsporadically and infrequently
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Afrikaans van tyd tot tyd
- van tyd tot tydoccasionally
Arabic بَيْنَ ٱلْحِينِ وَٱلْآخَرِ, بين وقت وآخر
- بَيْنَ ٱلْحِينِ وَٱلْآخَرِ (bayna l-ḥīni wal-ʔāḵari)occasionally
- بين وقت وآخرoccasionally
Bulgarian от време на време
- от време на време (ot vreme na vreme)occasionally
Catalan de tant en tant, ara i adés
- de tant en tantoccasionally
- ara i adésoccasionally
- adesiaraoccasionally
Chinese Cantonese 耐唔耐
- 耐唔耐occasionally
Chinese Mandarin 偶爾 /偶尔, 不時 /不时
- 偶爾 /偶尔 (ǒu'ěr)occasionally
- 不時 /不时 (bùshí)occasionally
- 間或 /间或 (jiànhuò)occasionally
Czech čas od času, občas
- čas od časuoccasionally
- občasoccasionally
Danish fra tid til anden, nu og da
- fra tid til andenoccasionally
- nu og daoccasionally
Dutch van tijd tot tijd
- van tijd tot tijdoccasionally
Esperanto de tempo al tempo, tempaltempe
- de tempo al tempooccasionally
- tempaltempeoccasionally
- fojfojeoccasionally
Estonian aegajalt, vahetevahel
- aegajaltoccasionally
- vahetevaheloccasionally
Finnish toisinaan, ajoittain
- toisinaanoccasionally
- ajoittainoccasionally
- silloin tällöinoccasionally
- aika ajoinoccasionally
French de temps en temps
- de temps en tempsoccasionally
German von Zeit zu Zeit
- von Zeit zu Zeitoccasionally
Greek από καιρό σε καιρό, από καιρού εις καιρόν
- από καιρό σε καιρό (apó kairó se kairó)occasionally
- από καιρού εις καιρόν (apó kairoú eis kairón)occasionally
- πού και πού (poú kai poú)occasionally
Hebrew לְעִתִּים
- לְעִתִּים (le'itím)occasionally
Hungarian időnként, időről időre
- időnkéntoccasionally
- időről időreoccasionally
Irish ó am go ham
- ó am go hamoccasionally
Italian di tanto in tanto, ogni tanto
- di tanto in tantooccasionally
- ogni tantooccasionally
- di quando in quandooccasionally
Japanese 時々
- 時々 (tokidoki)occasionally
Korean 가끔, 때때로
- 가끔 (gakkeum)occasionally
- 때때로 (ttaettaero)occasionally
Norwegian Bokmål fra tid til annen, nå og da
- fra tid til annenoccasionally
- nå og daoccasionally
- av og tiloccasionally
- i ny og neoccasionally
- iblantoccasionally
- en gang imellomoccasionally
Persian گهگاه, گاه به گاه
- گهگاه (gahgâh)occasionally
- گاه به گاه (gâh be gâh)occasionally
- هر از گاهی (har-az-gâhi)occasionally
- هر چند وقت یک بار (har-čand-vaqt-yek-bâr)occasionally
Polish od czasu do czasu, raz na jakiś czas
- od czasu do czasuoccasionally
- raz na jakiś czasoccasionally
Portuguese de vez em quando, às vezes
- de vez em quandooccasionally
- às vezesoccasionally
- volta e meiaoccasionally
Romanian din când în când
- din când în cândoccasionally
Russian вре́мя от вре́мени, времена́ми
- вре́мя от вре́мени (vrémja ot vrémeni)occasionally
- времена́ми (vremenámi)occasionally
- поро́й (porój)occasionally
- иногда́ (inogdá)occasionally
Slovak sem-tam
- sem-tamoccasionally
Spanish de vez en cuando, a veces
- de vez en cuandooccasionally
- a vecesoccasionally
Swahili mara kwa mara
- mara kwa maraoccasionally
Swedish då och då, stundom
- då och dåoccasionally
- stundomoccasionally
- tid efter annanoccasionally
Tagalog paminsan-minsan, pana-panahon
- paminsan-minsanoccasionally
- pana-panahonoccasionally
Turkish zaman zaman, ara ara
- zaman zamanoccasionally
- ara araoccasionally
Ukrainian час від ча́су
- час від ча́су (čas vid čásu)occasionally
Urdu کبھی کبھار, کبھی کبھی
- کبھی کبھار (kabhī-kabhār)occasionally
- کبھی کبھی (kabhī-kabhī)occasionally
- گاہے ماہے (gāhe-māhe)occasionally
- بعض اوقات (bāz-auqāt)occasionally
- گاہے گاہے (gāhe-gāhe)occasionally
Welsh o amser i amser, o dro i dro
- o amser i amseroccasionally
- o dro i drooccasionally
- ar drooccasionally
- o bryd i'w gilyddoccasionally
Cite this entry
from time to time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20time%20to%20time
“from time to time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20time%20to%20time. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “from time to time,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/from%20time%20to%20time.
Source: from time to time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.