▶ USAGE When is sometimes used instead of than after no sooner, but this use is generally regarded as incorrect: no sooner had he arrived than (not when) the telephone rang
sooner in American English
(ˈsunər)
US
noun
1.
a person occupying homestead land, as formerly in the western U.S., before the authorized time for doing so, thus gaining an unfair advantage in choice of location
2. [S-]; Informal
a person born or living in Oklahoma
Word origin
< compar. of soon
Examples of 'sooner' in a sentence
sooner
But she would sooner not talk about it.
Giles Whittell Spitfire Women of World War II (2007)
And he deserves to find the woman who will give him that sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
This would give doctors and patients important information much sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The sooner action is taken the better.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His party could have helped him to act sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The survey show seems to come sooner and sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Once they give it a try they normally wonder why they did not take the plunge sooner.
The Sun (2013)
Experts yesterday demanded to know why social workers did not act sooner.
The Sun (2013)
The surprise was that his removal did not come sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But they felt a rolling momentum to act sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He will give up sooner if you ignore his taunts and he is deprived of the pleasure of upsetting you.
The Sun (2016)
The sooner that happens the better.
The Sun (2011)
But he could be back sooner than that after posting a positive message on Twitter.
The Sun (2013)
He should have come out sooner, he says.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The scandal is that the trial didn't happen sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The key to treatment is to catch it early: the sooner antibiotics are given the better.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The sooner you take a proactive interest, the more you will benefit at retirement.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It could happen sooner - who knows?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
I lean towards the longer term rather than sooner.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I could have done something about it way sooner.
The Sun (2014)
I again blamed myself for not having the courage to say anything sooner.
The Sun (2014)
PEOPLE with fewer friends tend to die sooner after having a heart attack than people with a strong social network, research has found.
The Sun (2010)
In other languages
sooner
British English: sooner /ˈsuːnə/ ADVERB
Sooner is the comparative of soon. It means more soon.
This chance has come sooner than I expected.
American English: sooner
Arabic: عَاجِلاً
Brazilian Portuguese: mais cedo
Chinese: 更快
Croatian: ranije
Czech: dříve v kratší době
Danish: tidligere
Dutch: eerder
European Spanish: antes pronto
Finnish: aikaisemmin
French: plus tôt
German: eher
Greek: συντομότερα
Italian: prima in un momento anteriore
Japanese: より早く
Korean: 조만간
Norwegian: før
Polish: wcześniej
European Portuguese: mais cedo
Romanian: mai devreme
Russian: скорее
Latin American Spanish: antes
Swedish: förr
Thai: เร็วกว่า
Turkish: daha erken
Ukrainian: скоріше
Vietnamese: sớm hơn
All related terms of 'sooner'
soon
If something is going to happen soon , it will happen after a short time. If something happened soon after a particular time or event , it happened a short time after it.
no sooner
If you say that no sooner has one thing happened than another thing happens, you mean that the second thing happens immediately after the first thing.
had sooner
would rather; would prefer to
Sooner State
→ the Sooner State
no sooner…than
immediately after or when
sooner or later
If you say that something will happen sooner or later , you mean that it will happen at some time in the future , even though it might take a long time.
the Sooner State
a nickname for the state of Oklahoma
would sooner/'d sooner
If you say that you would sooner do something or you ' d sooner do it, you mean that you would prefer to do it.
the sooner the better
You say the sooner the better when you think something should be done as soon as possible.
the bigger/sooner/smaller etc the better
You can use expressions like ' The bigger the better ' or ' The sooner the better ' to say that you would prefer it if something is big or happens soon.
Chinese translation of 'sooner'
sooner
(ˈsuːnəʳ)
adv
I would sooner ... 我宁(寧)愿(願) ... (wǒ nìngyuàn ... )
sooner or later迟(遲)早 (chízǎo)
the sooner the better越快越好 (yuè kuài yuè hǎo)
no sooner said than done说(說)到做到 (shuō dào zuò dào)
no sooner had we left than ... 我们(們)一离(離)开(開)就 ... (wǒmen yī líkāi jiù ... )
All related terms of 'sooner'
sooner or later
迟(遲)早 chízǎo
I would sooner ...
我宁(寧)愿(願) ... wǒ nìngyuàn ...
the sooner the better
越快越好 yuè kuài yuè hǎo
no sooner said than done
说(說)到做到 shuō dào zuò dào
no sooner had we left than ...
我们(們)一离(離)开(開)就 ... wǒmen yī líkāi jiù ...
1 (adverb)
I thought she would have recovered sooner.
Synonyms
earlier
For reasons mentioned earlier, I will not be able to attend.
before
The war had ended only a month or so before.
already
They've spent nearly a billion dollars on it already.
beforehand
How could she tell beforehand that I was going to go out?
ahead of time
2 (adverb)
Definition
rather
They would sooner die than stay in London.
Synonyms
rather
I'd rather stay at home than fight against the holiday crowds.
more readily
by preference
more willingly
Usage note
When is sometimes used instead of than after no sooner, but this use is generally regarded as incorrect: no sooner had he arrived than (not when) the telephone rang.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of already
Definition
before an implied or expected time
They've spent nearly a billion dollars on it already.
Synonyms
before now,
before,
previously,
at present,
by now,
by then,
even now,
by this time,
just now,
by that time,
heretofore,
as of now
in the sense of before
Definition
previously
The war had ended only a month or so before.
Synonyms
previously,
earlier,
sooner,
in advance,
formerly,
B4
in the sense of beforehand
Definition
early
How could she tell beforehand that I was going to go out?