[uh-gen, uh-geyn] 
| 1. | once more; another time; anew; in addition: Will you spell your name again, please? |
| 2. | in an additional case or instance; moreover; besides; furthermore. |
| 3. | on the other hand: It might happen, and again it might not. |
| 4. | back; in return; in reply: to answer again. |
| 5. | to the same place or person: to return again. |
| 6. | again and again, with frequent repetition; often: They went over the same arguments again and again. |
| 7. | as much again, twice as much: She earns as much again as I do. |
[uh-gen] , with the same vowel heard in yet and pep. The pronunciation [uh-geyn], rhyming with pain, occurs chiefly in the Atlantic states. Again said as [uh-gin], with the vowel of pit or sip, or with a vowel somewhere between [e] and [i], is the common pronunciation in much of the South, where [e] and [i] tend to become neutralized, or more like one another, before [m] and [n], leading to a lack of noticeable distinction between such pairs as pen and pin, ten and tin. | a·gain (ə-gěn') adv.
[Middle English (influenced by Old Norse i gegn, again), from Old English ongeagn, against.] |
again
In addition to the idiom beginning with again, also see come again; do something over again; ever and again; every now and again; here someone goes again; now and again; off and on (off again, on again); over again; something else again; time and time again; you can say that again.