now and then

/ˌnaʊ ən(d)ˈðɛn/

adverb

Synonym of occasionally, sometimes, intermittently.

“Call your mother now and then and let her know you care.”

Similar
every now and againevery now and thennow and againoccasionallysometimesintermittentlyon occasiononce in a while
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Meanings

adverbnow and then (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparableSynonym of occasionally, sometimes, intermittently.

    Call your mother now and then and let her know you care.

    2 more examples

    Turn around, bright eyes / Every now and then, I fall apart

    1983, Jim Steinman, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, performed by Bonnie Tyler ft. Rory Dodd

    I'm a writer first, but I do have my HGV licence, and I use it every now and then.

    2024 March 6, Pip Dunn, “Freight's future is in ISO containers”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 36

    Synonyms: every now and again, every now and then, now and again, occasionally, sometimes, intermittently

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbSynonym of occasionally, sometimes, intermittently.

Similar
every now and againevery now and thennow and againoccasionallysometimesintermittently

More synonyms by meaning

adverbsporadically and infrequently

Similar
occasionallyon occasiononce in a whilenow and againat timesfrom time to time
Also see
at timesever and anonevery now and thenfrom time to timenow and againoccasionallyonce in a whileon occasionseldsometimeswhilom

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Compare Dutch nu en dan, West Frisian no en dan.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans af en toe
  • af en toe(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Bulgarian от вре́ме на вре́ме, сеги́з-тоги́з
  • от вре́ме на вре́ме (ot vréme na vréme)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • сеги́з-тоги́з (segíz-togíz)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Catalan de tant en tant, ara i adés
  • de tant en tant(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • ara i adés(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • adesiara(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Chinese Mandarin 偶爾 /偶尔, 時而 /时而
  • 偶爾 /偶尔 (ǒu'ěr)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • 時而 /时而 (shí'ér)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Czech tu a tam
  • tu a tam(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Danish nu og da
  • nu og da(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Dutch af en toe, nu en dan
  • af en toe(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • nu en dan(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Esperanto de tempo al tempo, fojfoje
  • de tempo al tempo(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • fojfoje(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Finnish silloin tällöin, joskus
  • silloin tällöin(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • joskus(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
French de temps en temps, de temps à autre
  • de temps en temps(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • de temps à autre(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
German hin und wieder, ab und zu
  • hin und wieder(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • ab und zu(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • mitunter(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • dann und wann(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Greek πότε-πότε, πού και πού
  • πότε-πότε (póte-póte)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • πού και πού (poú kai poú)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Hungarian hébe-hóba, egyszer-egyszer
  • hébe-hóba(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • egyszer-egyszer(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • időnként(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • olykor(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • néha(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • olykor-olykor(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • néha-néha(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Icelandic stöku sinnum
  • stöku sinnum(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Irish anois is arís, anois agus arís
  • anois is arís(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • anois agus arís(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Italian di tanto in tanto, ogni tanto
  • di tanto in tanto(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • ogni tanto(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Japanese 時々, 偶に
  • 時々 (tokidoki)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • 偶に (tama ni)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Latin interdum
  • interdum(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Norwegian av og til, nå og da
  • av og til(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • nå og da(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Norwegian Bokmål av og til, nå og da
  • av og til(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • nå og da(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • fra tid til annen(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Polish od czasu do czasu, raz na jakiś czas
  • od czasu do czasu(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • raz na jakiś czas(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • co jakiś czas(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Portuguese vez por outra, de vez em quando
  • vez por outra(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • de vez em quando(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • ocasionalmente(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Romanian câteodată, uneori
  • câteodată(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • uneori(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • când și când(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Russian то и де́ло, времена́ми
  • то и де́ло (to i délo)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • времена́ми (vremenámi)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • вре́мя от вре́мени (vrémja ot vrémeni)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Scottish Gaelic an-dràsta 's a-rithist, corra uair
  • an-dràsta 's a-rithist(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • corra uair(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • a-nis is a-rithist(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Slovak sem-tam
  • sem-tam(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Spanish de vez en cuando
  • de vez en cuando(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Swedish av och till, till och från
  • av och till(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • till och från(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • då och då(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Tagalog paminsan-minsan
  • paminsan-minsan(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Turkish ara sıra, bazen
  • ara sıra(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • bazen(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Ukrainian час від ча́су
  • час від ча́су (čas vid čásu)(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Welsh bob hyn a hyn
  • bob hyn a hyn(idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
Cite this entry
APA

now and then. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20and%20then

MLA

“now and then.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20and%20then. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “now and then,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/now%20and%20then.

Source: now and then on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.