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- Dictionaryoften/ˈɒf(ə)n/
adverb
- 1. frequently; many times: "he often goes for long walks by himself"
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Often is an adverb meaning ‘many times on different occasions’. Like many other short adverbs, we use it in front position, in mid position (between the subject and the main verb, or after the modal verb or first auxiliary verb, or after be as a main verb) or in end position: …
How often do you call your mother? The condition often returns even after treatment with antibiotics. I often take a walk during my lunch break. He travels more often than I do. The disease is diagnosed most often in children. They seem to be getting into arguments more and more often. It's not often that I get to enjoy a day off.
Often definition: many times; frequently. See examples of OFTEN used in a sentence.
Definition of often adverb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
1. frequently or repeatedly; much of the time. Also (archaic or US): oftentimes (archaic): ofttimes. 2. as often as not quite frequently. 3. every so often at intervals. 4. more often than not in more than half the instances. adj. archaic repeated; frequent. [C14: variant of oft before vowels and h]
Often means "frequently," like if you see your friends every day, you see each other often. The adverb often can mean "in great quantities," like you often stop by the donut shop, you might be shocked to realize you've been there hundreds of times in the last few years.
often, frequently, generally, usually refer to experiences that are customary. often and frequently may be used interchangeably in most cases, but often implies numerous repetitions and, sometimes, regularity of recurrence: We often go there ; frequently suggests esp. repetition at comparatively short intervals: It happens frequently. generally ...
• Often is used at the beginning of a sentence, especially when something seems surprising: Often I don’t go to bed until 2 a.m. • Often is also used at the end of a sentence: Do you go to bed late often? Examples from the Corpus often • I have a cell phone, but I don't use it very often.
Definitions of 'often' 1. If something often happens, it happens many times or much of the time. [...] 2. You use how often to ask questions about frequency. You also use often in reported clauses and other statements to give information about the frequency of something. [...] 3. See every so often [...] More. Synonyms of 'often'
What does the word often mean? There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the word often. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence. See meaning & use. How common is the word often? About 300 occurrences per million words in modern written English. See frequency. How is the word often pronounced? British English.
