The meaning of THEN is at that time. How to use then in a sentence.

He's always harking back to his childhood and saying how things were better then. Just then, the lights went out. The train leaves at three minutes to eight, so we'd better get there a few minutes before …

You use then at the beginning of a sentence or after `and' or `but' to introduce a comment or an extra piece of information to what you have already said. He sounded sincere, but then, he always did.

1. at that time: Prices were lower then. 2. immediately or soon afterward: The rain stopped and then started again. 3. next in order of time or place: We ate, then we started home.

6 days ago · He had met his then girlfriend when he had just started university. The relationship ended unhappily when the girlfriend complained that he never wanted to go out.

Mar 9, 2026 · The word "then" is a versatile adverb that indicates time, sequence, or consequence. Its correct use enhances clarity in expressing chronological order or logical outcomes.

Then definition: Next in time, space, or order; immediately afterward.

'Then' helps specify the succession of events, clarifying when something occurs in relation to another. It sometimes appears in phrases indicating change, such as 'back then,' which refers to a past time.

Grammatically speaking, then is used as an adverb or adjective, while than is used as a conjunction or preposition. Perhaps the most common way the two words are confused is when then is used when …

Then is a word that puts things in order by time, or refers to a moment in time: you get up; then you have breakfast. You're married now; back then, you were single.