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until now
/ənˈtɪl naʊ/
up to the present time
I haven't tried that restaurant until now.
This means the speaker has not tried the restaurant before today.
formalinformal
up to the present time; so far
She has been working on the project until now.
This indicates that she has been working on the project up to the current moment.
Until now, we didn't know the truth.
This means that the truth was unknown before the present time.
This phrase is commonly used to refer to a time period leading up to the present moment.
Collocations
until nowup to the present timeuntil this pointup to this moment
Synonyms
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Usage in Time Expressions
'Until now' is often used to contrast past actions with the present. For example, 'I didn't know until now' implies that the speaker now knows something they didn't know before.
Gold Rule
Temporal Context
Always use 'until now' to refer to a time period that includes the present moment. Do not use it to refer to future events.
Word Origin
The phrase 'until now' is a combination of the preposition 'until' and the noun 'now', both of which are Old English in origin.
Usage Notes
This phrase is used to indicate a time period that includes all moments leading up to the present. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
Word Breakdown
until
up to the time of
prepositionnow
the present time
nounEnglish Dictionary