Standard Lemma guide

until

conj · prep · 7 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Canada, UK: ŭn-tĭlʹ
  • Canada, UK: ən-tĭlʹ
  • Canada, UK: /ʌnˈtɪl/
  • Canada, UK: /ənˈtɪl/
  • Canada, UK: /ʊnˈtɪl/
  • US: ŭn-tĭlʹ
  • US: ən-tĭlʹ
  • US: /ʌnˈtɪl/
  • US: /ənˈtɪl/
  • nonstandard: /ɪnˈtɪl/
  • ŭn-tĭlʹ Appalachians, also
  • /ˈʌntəl/ Appalachians, also
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪl
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N T IH1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

conj

Meaning 1

Up to the time that (a condition becomes true).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Not until I got his email did I fully understand his disappointment.
  • It took us a week before/until we got the house repainted.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

conj

Meaning 2

Before (a condition becoming true).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

prep

Meaning 3

Up to the time of (something happening); pending.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • If you can wait until after my meeting with her, we'll talk then.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

prep

Meaning 4

Up to (a certain place)

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Keep walking until the second set of traffic lights, then turn left.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

prep

Meaning 5

Before (a time).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

prep

Meaning 6

To; physically towards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

prep

Meaning 7

Up to the time that the foods or other things available to sell, or tasks which need to be completed, run out.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Bake sale on Saturday, 2pm until.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English vntil, until, untill, ontil, ontill, perhaps representing a northern variant of Middle English unto (see Modern English unto). By surface analysis, un- (“against; toward; up to”) + till.

Across languages

Translations

253 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: حَتَّى (ḥattā) — up to the time that
  • Arabic: إِلَى أَنْ (ʔilā ʔan) — up to the time that
  • Bulgarian: докато (dokato) — up to the time that
  • Burmese: အထိ (a.hti.) — up to the time that
  • Chinese Cantonese: 到 (dou3) — up to the time that
  • Chinese Cantonese: 至 (zi3) — up to the time that
  • Chinese Mandarin: 直到 (zhídào) — up to the time that
  • Chinese Mandarin: 直至 (zhízhì) — up to the time that
  • Chinese Mandarin: 至 (zhì) — up to the time that
  • Ndzwani Comorian: ta — up to the time that
  • Czech: dokud — up to the time that
  • Dutch: totdat — up to the time that
  • Estonian: kuni — up to the time that
  • Finnish: kunnes — up to the time that
  • French: jusqu'à ce que — up to the time that
  • French: jusqu'au moment où — up to the time that
  • German: bis — up to the time that
  • Greek: ώσπου (óspou) — up to the time that
  • Greek: ωσότου (osótou) — up to the time that
  • Ancient Greek: μέχρι (mékhri) — up to the time that
  • Ancient Greek: ἕως (héōs) — up to the time that
  • Hebrew: עד (ád) — up to the time that
  • Hindi: तक (tak) — up to the time that
  • Hindi: तलक (talak) — up to the time that
  • Hindi: पर्यंत (paryant) — up to the time that
  • Hungarian: amíg...nem — up to the time that
  • Hungarian: ameddig...nem — up to the time that
  • Interlingua: usque — up to the time that
  • Irish: go dtí go — up to the time that
  • Old Irish: co — up to the time that
  • Japanese: ...まで — up to the time that
  • Northern Kurdish: heta — up to the time that
  • Northern Kurdish: ta — up to the time that
  • Northern Kurdish: heta ku — up to the time that
  • Latin: donec — up to the time that
  • Macedonian: до́дека не (dódeka ne) — up to the time that
  • Manchu: ᡳᠰᡳᡨᠠᠯᠠ (isitala) — up to the time that
  • Norwegian Bokmål: inntil — up to the time that
  • Old English: oþ þæt — up to the time that
  • Polish: aż — up to the time that
  • Portuguese: até — up to the time that
  • Punjabi: ਜਦ ਤੱਕ (jad takka) — up to the time that
  • Romanian: până — up to the time that
  • Russian: пока́ не (poká ne) — up to the time that
  • Russian: до тех пор, пока́ не (do tex por, poká ne) — up to the time that
  • Sanskrit: पर्यन्तम् (paryantam) — up to the time that
  • Slovene: dokler — up to the time that
  • Spanish: hasta — up to the time that
  • Spanish: hasta que — up to the time that
  • Swedish: tills — up to the time that
  • Tocharian B: eṃṣke — up to the time that
  • Ukrainian: допо́ки (dopóky) — up to the time that
  • Ukrainian: по́ки (póky) — up to the time that
  • Urdu: تَک (tak) — up to the time that
  • Urdu: پَرْیَنْت (paryant) — up to the time that
  • Uyghur: -غىچە (-ghiche) — up to the time that
  • Uyghur: -قىچە (-qiche) — up to the time that
  • Uyghur: -گىچە (-giche) — up to the time that
  • Uyghur: -كىچە (-kiche) — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: cho đến khi — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: đến khi — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: cho đến lúc — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: đến lúc — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: cho tới khi — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: tới khi — up to the time that
  • Vietnamese: tới lúc — up to the time that
  • Walloon: disca tant ki — up to the time that
  • Arabic: حَتَّى (ḥattā) — before
  • Bulgarian: докато (dokato) — before
  • Chinese Cantonese: 喺......之前 (hai2...zi1 cin4) — before
  • Finnish: ennen kuin — before
  • French: avant que — before
  • Hebrew: לפני (lifné) — before
  • Hungarian: mielőtt — before
  • Hungarian: azelőtt, hogy — before
  • Japanese: ...まで — before
  • Northern Kurdish: heta — before
  • Polish: dopóki nie — before
  • Afrikaans: totdat — up to the time of
  • Afrikaans: tot — up to the time of
  • Albanian: deri — up to the time of
  • Amharic: እስከ (ʾəskä) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: حَتَّى (ḥattā) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: لغاية (li-ḡāya) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: إلين (ʔilēn) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: حتى (ḥatta) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: تا (ta) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: لحدّ (la-ḥadd) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: حتى (ḥatta) — up to the time of
  • Arabic: لـ (la-) — up to the time of
  • Asturian: hasta — up to the time of
  • Asturian: fasta — up to the time of
  • Asturian: ata — up to the time of
  • Asturian: ta — up to the time of
  • Bashkir: тиклем (tiklem) — up to the time of
  • Bashkir: хәтлем (xətlem) — up to the time of
  • Bashkir: ҡәҙәр (qəźər) — up to the time of
  • Basque: arte — up to the time of
  • Belarusian: да (da) — up to the time of
  • Bengali: অবধি (obodhi) — up to the time of
  • Bengali: পর্যন্ত (porjonto) — up to the time of
  • Bulgarian: до (do) — up to the time of
  • Burmese: အထိ (a.hti.) — up to the time of
  • Catalan: fins — up to the time of
  • Chinese Cantonese: 到 (dou3) — up to the time of
  • Chinese Cantonese: 至 (zi3) — up to the time of
  • Chinese Mandarin: 直到 (zhídào) — up to the time of
  • Chinese Mandarin: 直至 (zhízhì) — up to the time of
  • Chinese Mandarin: 至 (zhì) — up to the time of
  • Ngazidja Comorian: hata mpaka — up to the time of
  • Czech: do — up to the time of
  • Danish: indtil — up to the time of
  • Dutch: totdat — up to the time of
  • Dutch: tot — up to the time of
  • Esperanto: ĝis — up to the time of
  • Estonian: kuni — up to the time of
  • Fala: hasta — up to the time of
  • Finnish: saakka — up to the time of
  • Finnish: asti — up to the time of
  • Finnish: kunnes — up to the time of
  • French: jusque — up to the time of
  • French: jusqu'à — up to the time of
  • West-Frisian: oant — up to the time of
  • Galician: deica — up to the time of
  • Galician: endeica — up to the time of
  • Georgian: -მდე (-mde) — up to the time of
  • German: bis — up to the time of
  • German: bis zu — up to the time of
  • German: bis an — up to the time of
  • Greek: μέχρι (méchri) — up to the time of
  • Greek: ως (os) — up to the time of
  • Ancient Greek: ἕως (héōs) — up to the time of
  • Ancient Greek: μέχρι (mékhri) — up to the time of
  • Ancient Greek: μέσφα (méspha) — up to the time of
  • Ancient Greek: ἄχρι (ákhri) — up to the time of
  • Mbya Guarani: peve — up to the time of
  • Haitian Creole: jiska — up to the time of
  • Hebrew: עַד (ad) — up to the time of
  • Hindi: ... तक (... tak) — up to the time of
  • Hindi: पर्यंत (paryant) — up to the time of
  • Hungarian: -ig — up to the time of
  • Icelandic: þangað til — up to the time of
  • Icelandic: fyrr en — up to the time of
  • Icelandic: uns — up to the time of
  • Icelandic: þar til — up to the time of
  • Ido: til — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: saa — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: nasse — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: nas — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: nast — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: asse — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: ast — up to the time of
  • Ingrian: as — up to the time of
  • Irish: go dtí — up to the time of
  • Old Irish: co — up to the time of
  • Italian: finché — up to the time of
  • Italian: fino a quando — up to the time of
  • Italian: fino a — up to the time of
  • Japanese: まで (made) — up to the time of
  • Kapampangan: angga — up to the time of
  • Korean: -까지 (-kkaji) — up to the time of
  • Northern Kurdish: heta — up to the time of
  • Northern Kurdish: ta — up to the time of
  • Latin: usque ad — up to the time of
  • Latvian: līdz — up to the time of
  • Leonese: ata — up to the time of
  • Lithuanian: kol — up to the time of
  • Lithuanian: iki — up to the time of
  • Low German: bit — up to the time of
  • Macedonian: до (do) — up to the time of
  • Macedonian: сѐ до (sè do) — up to the time of
  • Malay: sehingga — up to the time of
  • Maltese: sa — up to the time of
  • Maltese: sakemm — up to the time of
  • Māori: āpānoa — up to the time of
  • Māori: rā anō — up to the time of
  • Māori: rānō — up to the time of
  • Māori: tae noa ki — up to the time of
  • Mirandese: até — up to the time of
  • Occitan: fins — up to the time of
  • Old English: oþ — up to the time of
  • Persian: تا (tâ) — up to the time of
  • Plautdietsch: bat (nds) — up to the time of
  • Polish: do — up to the time of
  • Polish: aż do — up to the time of
  • Portuguese: até — up to the time of
  • Portuguese: até que — up to the time of
  • Punjabi: ਤੱਕ (takka) — up to the time of
  • Romanian: până — up to the time of
  • Romanian: până când — up to the time of
  • Romanian: până ce — up to the time of
  • Russian: до (do) — up to the time of
  • Scottish Gaelic: gu — up to the time of
  • Scottish Gaelic: gus — up to the time of
  • Serbo-Croatian: до̏ — up to the time of
  • Serbo-Croatian: dȍ — up to the time of
  • Slovak: do — up to the time of
  • Slovene: do — up to the time of
  • Lower Sorbian: do — up to the time of
  • Upper Sorbian: do — up to the time of
  • Spanish: hasta — up to the time of
  • Sranan Tongo: te kon miti — up to the time of
  • Swahili: mpaka — up to the time of
  • Swedish: tills — up to the time of
  • Tajik: то (to) — up to the time of
  • Tocharian B: eṃṣke — up to the time of
  • Turkish: kadar — up to the time of
  • Turkish: dek — up to the time of
  • Ukrainian: до (do) — up to the time of
  • Urdu: ... تک (... tak) — up to the time of
  • Urdu: جب تک (jab tak) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -غىچە (-ghiche) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -قىچە (-qiche) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -گىچە (-giche) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -كىچە (-kiche) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -غا قەدەر (-gha qeder) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -قا قەدەر (-qa qeder) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -گە قەدەر (-ge qeder) — up to the time of
  • Uyghur: -كە قەدەر (-ke qeder) — up to the time of
  • Vietnamese: cho đến — up to the time of
  • Vietnamese: đến — up to the time of
  • Vietnamese: cho tới — up to the time of
  • Vietnamese: tới — up to the time of
  • Walloon: diski — up to the time of
  • Walloon: disk' a — up to the time of
  • Walloon: disk' a tant ki — up to the time of
  • Welsh: tan — up to the time of
  • Yiddish: ביז (biz) — up to the time of
  • Yucatec Maya: tak — up to the time of
  • Chinese Mandarin: 在......之前 (zài...zhīqián) — before
  • Finnish: ennen — before
  • French: avant — before
  • Galician: denantes — before
  • Galician: endenantes — before
  • Galician: enantes — before
  • Galician: aventes — before
  • Greek: πριν (prin) — before
  • Hindi: तक (tak) — before
  • Hindi: पर्यंत (paryant) — before
  • Hungarian: előtt — before
  • Japanese: まで (made) — before
  • Kapampangan: bayu — before
  • Kapampangan: angga — before
  • Northern Kurdish: ta — before
  • Northern Kurdish: berî — before
  • Macedonian: до (do) — before
  • Portuguese: até que — before
  • Romanian: până nu — before
  • Russian: до (do) — before
  • Russian: не ра́ньше (ne ránʹše) — before
  • Spanish: antes — before
  • Ukrainian: до (do) — before
  • Ukrainian: не раніше (ne raniše) — before
Real reading context

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