Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use then in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb, adjective, noun

Then means at that time. Example: “He was happy then.”

Examples of then by meaning

adverbAt that time.

  • He was happy then.
  • The country was shaken by the then-recent assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, which happened against the background of profound racial tensions, stark economic inequality and growing opposition to the Vietnam War.2022 January 21, Jacopo Prisco, “Striking photographs show ‘America in Crisis’”, in CNN

adverbSoon afterward.

  • He fixed it, then left.
  • Turn left, then right, then right again, then keep going until you reach the service station.
  • And then came an invitation to tonight's ball.

adverbNext in order of place.

  • There are three green ones, then a blue one.
  • Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16.2013 July 19, Peter Wilby, “Finland spreads word on schools”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 30

adverbIn that case.

  • If it’s locked, then we’ll need the key.
  • Is it 12 o’clock already? Then it’s time for me to leave.
  • You don’t like potatoes? What do you want me to cook, then?

adverbAt the same time; on the other hand.

  • That’s a nice shirt, but then, so is the other one.
  • The forms inheritress and inheritrix are used only in literature, and then but rarely.

adjectiveBeing so at that time.

  • He had met his then girlfriend when he had just started university.2011, Alessandra Lemma, Mary Target, Peter Fonagy, Brief Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy: A Clinician's Guide, page 124
  • Martin a drink, but the plot really thickened when the linguist met Martin’s then-assistant Ty Franck.2019 December 22, Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar, “Nick Farmer knows dozens of languages, so he invented one for The Expanse”, in Ars...
  • It’s been nearly four years since China put tariffs on American-grown soybeans during a tit-for-tat trade war with then-President Donald Trump – and they remain in place despite the change in administrations.2022 May 8, Katie Lobosco, “Trump’s trade war looms over soybean farmers 4 years later”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2024

nounThat time.

  • It will be finished before then.

More sentences with then

  • After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels.From the entry on
  • For six hours the tide flows in, then for another six hours it flows out.From the entry in
  • If the tennis ball bounces on the line then it's in.From the entry in
  • The fives and sixes will have a snack first, then the older kids.From the entry five
  • Until then his life had consisted of low-paying jobs, numerous unemployments, and drug use.From the entry unemployment
  • If the citizens must follow the law, then the government must follow the constitution.From the entry government
  • We were just playing, and then some big kids came and chased us away.From the entry big
  • He took the bus to London, and then took a train to Manchester.From the entry take
  • Christmas comes but once a year, so we can but wait till then.From the entry but
  • She turned the gas on, put the potatoes on, then lit the oven.From the entry gas
  • Handicraft is less standardized then industrial products, hence less artistic or rather flawless.From the entry industrial
  • I love the one where he orders a cup of tea but then chaos ensues! LOL!From the entry lol
  • We scrimmaged a few times and then settled into boring drills.From the entry scrimmage
  • The committee chairman made a few concluding remarks and then closed the session.From the entry close
  • She suddenly felt strange, and only then realized she'd been drugged.From the entry drug
  • One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below.From the entry give
  • My great-grandfather worked in a mill. He filled the flour sacks and then carried and loaded them.From the entry mill
  • The child node then stores the actual data of the parent node.From the entry child
  • The comedian's jokes weren't funny, but I forced a laugh now and then.From the entry force
  • At the first intersection turn left and walk down, then turn right.From the entry down
  • Carry on past the church and then bear left at the junction.From the entry bear
  • You want to bring the rook and then start pushing your pawns.From the entry bring
  • I printed the report on form-feed paper, then burst the sheets.From the entry burst
  • Select the text, cut it, and then paste it in the other application.From the entry cut

Meaning of then

  1. adverb At that time.
  2. adverb Soon afterward.
  3. adverb Next in order of place.

Full definition of then

Questions about then in a sentence

How do you use then in a sentence?
Then is used as an adverb, adjective and noun. For example: “He was happy then.”
What is a short sentence with then?
“He was happy then.”
What does then mean?
Then means at that time.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: then (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use then in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/then. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.