from time to time

from time to time prepositional phrase: occasionally; sometimes; once in a while.

Prepositional phrase

(idiomatic) Occasionally; sometimes; once in a while.
- I'll find out your man, / And he shall signify from time to time / Every good hap to you that chances here.c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- On these red embers Hatteraick from time to time threw a handful of twigs.1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter XXV, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees...
In whatever status exists at various times.
- This is another way of saying that the terms of the individual contracts are in part to be found in the agreed collective agreements as they exist from time to time […]2015, Richard Painter, Ann Holmes, Cases and Materials on Employment Law, page 90
(obsolete) Continuously from one time to another; at all times, constantly.
- So was she trayned vp from time to time, / In all chast vertue, and true bounti-hed / Till to her dew perfection she was ripened.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
Synonyms:

time to time

அவ்வப்போது

occasionally: کبھی کبھار kabhī-kabhār, کبھی کبھی kabhī-kabhī, گاہے ماہے gāhe-māhe, بعض اوقات bāz-auqāt, گاہے گاہے gāhe-gāhe

sometimes, occasionally, now and then: ചിലസന്ദർഭങ്ങളിൽ, അപ്പപ്പോൾ, അപ്പഴപ്പോൾ, വല്ലപ്പോഴും, ചിലപ്പോൾ, കദാചന

More languagesFewer languages

from time to time in Arabic: بَيْنَ ٱلْحِينِ وَٱلْآخَرِ bayna l-ḥīni wal-ʔāḵari, بين وقت وآخر
from time to time in Persian: گهگاه gahgâh, گاه به گاه gâh be gâh, هر از گاهی har-az-gâhi, هر چند وقت یک بار har-čand-vaqt-yek-bâr

But at my back from time to time I hear / The sound of horns and motors, […]1922 October, T[homas] S[tearns] Eliot, “Part III. The Fire Sermon.”, in The Waste Land, 1st book edition, New York, N.Y.: Boni and...
From time to time in both directions the engine was blowing off, so there was no shortness of steam.1956 October, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 688:
From time to time, dig sites will yield new clues, but after 50,000 years of decay, little of value is unearthed.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Protheans: Data Discs Codex entry:
Life on Earth has developed over billions of years, largely unaffected by the solar storms that wash over our planet from time to time.2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 30:

What does from time to time mean?: From time to time means occasionally; sometimes; once in a while.
What is from time to time in Tamil?: From time to time in Tamil is அவ்வப்போது. See From time to time meaning in Tamil.
How do you use from time to time in a sentence?: But at my back from time to time I hear / The sound of horns and motors, […]
What part of speech is from time to time?: From time to time is a prepositional phrase.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-from time to time.ogg, en-us-from time to time.ogg.

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