Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use when in a sentence

40 example sentences · adverb, conjunction, pronoun

When means at what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time. Example: “When will they arrive?”

Examples of when by meaning

adverbAt what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about...

  • When will they arrive?
  • Do you know when they arrived?
  • I don't know when they arrived.

adverbUsed after a noun or noun phrase in isolation to express impatience with an anticipated future event.

  • The site's all bugged. Fix when?
  • Tank class buff when?
  • My fridge even restocks itself these days. Glorious AI overlords when?

adverbAt an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.

  • He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when.

adverbAt which, on which, during which: often omitted or replaced with that.

  • That was the day when the Twin Towers fell.
  • Not a week goes by when I don't mourn that loss.

adverbThe time at, on or during which.

  • I recall when they were called the Greys.
  • Next year is when we elect a new mayor.

adverbA circumstance or situation in which.

  • Love is when you can't get enough of someone.

conjunctionAt (or as soon as) that time that; at the (or any and every) time that; if.

  • Don't forget to signal when (you are) turning right.
  • When she'd written her letters, she did some gardening.
  • Jose, when he finally managed to go to sleep, had a series of bad dreams.

conjunctionDuring the time that; at the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase.

  • It was raining when I came yesterday.
  • The game is over when the referee says it is.
  • Be careful when crossing the street.

More sentences with when

  • Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.From the entry head
  • The party came to an abrupt end when the parents of our host arrived.From the entry abrupt
  • The professor stopped her lecture abruptly when she noticed someone fall off their seat.From the entry abruptly
  • She was extremely accommodating when it came to changing her schedule.From the entry accommodating
  • He was absent when I called, and I accordingly left my card.From the entry accordingly
  • You can visit me in the spring, when the weather is bearable.From the entry spring
  • Her birth father left when she was a baby; she was raised by her mother and stepfather.From the entry birth
  • You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework.From the entry can
  • You shouldn't use such crude language when talking to the bank manager.From the entry crude
  • When the boxer let down his guard, his opponent clocked him.From the entry clock
  • There comes a point in a marathon when some people give up.From the entry point
  • It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him.From the entry be
  • When the bad news came out, the company's stock dropped precipitously.From the entry stock
  • The monk entered religion when he was 20 years of age.From the entry religion
  • You're going to be in a world of trouble when your family finds out.From the entry world
  • I did a take when I saw the new car in the driveway.From the entry take
  • Nobody answered the door when I knocked, so I had no choice but to leave.From the entry but
  • When you say last Monday, do you mean the Monday just gone, or the one before that?From the entry last
  • His rage only increased when I told him of the lost money.From the entry increase
  • I first witnessed a death when I was nine years old.From the entry first
  • She was listening to the radio when he knocked on the door.From the entry radio
  • When was the last time we went out? I don’t remember.From the entry time

Meaning of when

  1. adverb At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.
  2. adverb Used after a noun or noun phrase in isolation to express impatience with an anticipated future event.
  3. adverb At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.

Full definition of when

Questions about when in a sentence

How do you use when in a sentence?
When is used as an adverb, conjunction and pronoun. For example: “When will they arrive?”
What is a short sentence with when?
“Tank class buff when?”
What does when mean?
When means at what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: when (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 when in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/when. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.