upon a time

prepositional phrase

At a certain time; at a particular time.

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Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. datedAt a certain time; at a particular time.

    Captaine Timotheus having upon a time beene at a sober and frugall scholars supper.

    1888, Charles Talbut Onions, James Augustus Henry Murray, Sir William Alexander Craigie (editors), A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (cited text refers to P. Holland's translation of Plutarch's Morals (1603), page 574
    2 more examples

    ... one of the servant girls made faith that she upon a time rashly entered into the house, to speak, in your cant, "in the hour of cause."

    1844, Robert Burns, John Wilson, The Works of Robert Burns, page 160

    Well, after a while the Captains and stout ones of the town of Mansoul agreed, and resolved upon a time to make a salley out upon the camp of Diabolus, ...

    2012, John Bunyan, The Holy War, Annotated Companion to the Pilgrim's Progress (a republication of Bunyan's original work in 1682), page 212
  2. datedInfrequently.
Cite this entry
APA

upon a time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upon%20a%20time

MLA

“upon a time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upon%20a%20time. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “upon a time,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upon%20a%20time.

Source: upon a time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.