Word.ws English Dictionary

alway

/ˈɔːl.weɪ/

alway is the alternative form of always.

Meaning of always

Adverb

always (not comparable)

  1. At all times; throughout all time; since the beginning.
    • God is always the same.
  2. Constantly during a certain period, or regularly at stated intervals (opposed to sometimes or occasionally).
    • In this street, the shops always close during lunchtime.
  3. (informal) if necessary, or if there is no better option; in any event.
    • I thought I could always go back to work.

Origin of alway

From Middle English alwey, from Old English ealneġ, ealne weġ (“always, perpetually”, literally “all the way”), from ealne + weġ (accusative case), equivalent to al- (“all”) + way. Cognate with Scots alwayis (“always”). More at all, way.

Words formed from alway

Words that rhyme with alway

Questions about alway

What is alway the alternative form of?
Alway is the alternative form of always.
How do you pronounce alway?
Alway is pronounced /ˈɔːl.weɪ/.

Words near alway in the dictionary

  1. Alwan
  2. Alwans
  3. Alwar
  4. Alward
  5. Alwards
  6. alway
  7. alwayes
  8. alwayez
  9. alwayness
  10. always
  11. always a bridesmaid, never a bride

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: alway (page history and authors); always (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “alway.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/alway. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.