adverb / adjective
sometime
SUM-tyme/ˈsʌmtaɪm/
At a time not specified.
The friends plan to meet sometime, leaving the calendar date undecided.
Etymology
Sum makes the time indefinite: the compound already meant “at one time or another” in Old English. Its later use for an unspecified future occasion preserves that same open-ended reference.
In context
and will be taking a decision sometime this month.
Sometime after mating, the female lays her eggs, and the cycle begins again.
More examples
- The package should arrive sometime next week.
- We met sometime last spring.
- Her sometime writing partner now works on his own.
Similar words
- someday
- Refers only to an unspecified future time, often distant.
- eventually
- Emphasizes something happening after a delay, not merely when.