Phrase guide

know someone when

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To have known a famous person before he or she was famous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: past, usually

Examples

  • 1915, "Interesting People: Charles Bullard: A Famous Photographer of Cats", in "The American Magazine" His friends thought him crazy, as friends always think when a man has an original idea and acts on it. Now, when his friends speak of him they invariably add, "I knew him when—"

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the formulaic phrase by which speakers begin reminiscence of now-famous persons.