at present

Idioms & Phrases

at present

Also, at the present time. Now, as in I've not enough cash at present to lend you any, or At present the house is still occupied. This slightly longer way of saying "at this time" formerly was even longer at this present or at that presentdenoting a more specific time. [Mid-1600s] Also see at this point.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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