Nearby Words
Related Questions

sooner

[soo-ner] Origin

soon·er

[soo-ner]
noun
1.
a person who settles on government land before it is legally opened to settlers in order to gain the choice of location.
2.
a person who gains an unfair advantage by getting ahead of others.

Origin:
1885–90, Americanism; soon + -er1

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Sooner is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

Soon·er

[soo-ner]
noun
a native or inhabitant of Oklahoma (the Sooner State) (used as a nickname).

soon

[soon]
adverb, -er, -est.
1.
within a short period after this or that time, event, etc.: We shall know soon after he calls.
2.
before long; in the near future; at an early date: Let's leave soon.
3.
promptly or quickly: He came as soon as he could.
4.
readily or willingly: I would as soon walk as ride.
5.
early in a period of time; before the time specified is much advanced: soon at night; soon in the evening.
EXPAND
6.
Obsolete. immediately; at once; forthwith.
COLLAPSE
7.
sooner or later, eventually: Sooner or later his luck will run out.
8.
would sooner, to prefer to: I would sooner not go to their party. Compare rather (def. 8).

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English sōna; cognate with Old High German sān, Gothic suns

currently, immediately, momentarily, now, presently, soon (see synonym note at immediately; see usage note at presently).
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To sooner
Collins
World English Dictionary
sooner (ˈsuːnə)
 
adv
1.  the comparative of soon : he came sooner than I thought
2.  rather; in preference: I'd sooner die than give up
3.  no sooner…than immediately after or when: no sooner had he got home than the rain stopped; no sooner said than done
4.  sooner or later eventually; inevitably
 
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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

soon
O.E. sona "at once, immediately," from W.Gmc. *sæno (cf. O.Fris. son, O.S. sana, O.H.G. san, Goth. suns "soon"). Sense shifted early M.E. to "within a short time" through human nature (cf. anon). Amer.Eng. Sooner for "Oklahoma native" is 1930, from the fact that in 1889 many settlers of the territory
EXPAND
snuck onto public land and staked their claims "sooner" than the legal date and time.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature