always
adverb /ˈɔːlweɪz/
/ˈɔːlweɪz/
Idioms - at all times; on every occasion
- There's almost always somebody at home in the evenings.
- Always lock your car.
- She always arrives at 7.30.
- The children always seem to be hungry.
- Success seems always to be out of reach.
- Your ideas are always welcome.
- It's not always easy to do the right thing.
- We're not always this busy!
- for a long time; since you can remember
- Pat has always loved gardening.
- This is the way we've always done it.
- This painting is very good—Ellie always was very good at art (= so it is not very surprising).
- Did you always want to be an actor?
- for all future time
- I'll always love you.
- if you say a person is always doing something, or something is always happening, you mean that they do it, or it happens, very often, and that this is annoying
- She's always criticizing me.
- That phone's always ringing.
- Why are you always complaining about my cooking?
- can/could always…, there’s always…used to suggest a possible course of action
- If it doesn't fit, you can always take it back.
- If he can't help, there's always John.
Word OriginMiddle English: genitive case of all way, the inflection probably giving the sense ‘at every time’ as opposed to ‘at one uninterrupted time’: the difference between the two is no longer distinct.
Idioms
as always
- as usually happens or is expected synonym as usual
- As always, Polly was late for school.
once a…, always a…
- used to say that somebody cannot change
- Once an actor, always an actor.