always

Universal Words adverb 1 at all times; on every occasion: There's always somebody at home in the evenings. * Always lock your car whenever you leave it. * She always arrives at 7.30. * The children always seem to be hungry. * We're not always this busy! 2 for a long time; since you can remember: Pat has always loved gardening. * This is the way we've always done it. * This painting is very good-Ellie always was very good at art (= so it is not very surprising). * Did you always want to be an actor? 3 for all future time: I'll always love you. 4 if you say a person is always doing sth, or sth is always happening, you mean that they do it, or it happens, very often, and that this is annoying: She's always criticizing me. * That phone's always ringing. * Why are you always complaining about my cooking? 5 (can / could always..., there's always...) used to suggest a possible course of action: If it doesn't fit, you can always take it back. * If he can't help, there's always John. IDIOMS as always as usually happens or is expected: As always, Polly was late for school. moreatONCEadv.