THEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does then mean? 

• THEN (noun)
  The noun THEN has 1 sense:

1. that time; that moment

  Familiarity information: THEN used as a noun is very rare.

• THEN (adjective)
  The adjective THEN has 1 sense:

1. at a specific prior time

  Familiarity information: THEN used as an adjective is very rare.

• THEN (adverb)
  The adverb THEN has 3 senses:

1. subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

2. in that case or as a consequence

3. at that time

  Familiarity information: THEN used as an adverb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

That time; that moment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Context example:

we were friends from then on

Hypernyms ("then" is a kind of...):

point; point in time (an instant of time)

• THEN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

At a specific prior time

Context example:

the then president

Similar:

past (earlier than the present time; no longer current)

• THEN (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

Synonyms:

and so; so; then

Context example:

and so home and to bed

Sense 2

Meaning:

In that case or as a consequence

Context example:

then you'll be rich

Sense 3

Meaning:

At that time

Context example:

science as it was then taught

 Context examples 

He would catch her first, then he would return and investigate.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Then I shall drop you a line to let you know how we progress.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then why move at all, since moving is living?

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I said I was sure of this, and then he went on:—We are in Transylvania; and Transylvania is not England.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Up to then he had accepted existence, as he had lived it with all about him, as a good thing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I then made another sign, that I wanted drink.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

If you must start, then do it, but things will change later, so be prepared to be flexible.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Then came the death of this Ronald Adair.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have formed a theory, then?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Well," he insisted, turning to me, "what is it, then?"

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)