no sooner

idiom

used to emphasize the short time in which something happens
I had no sooner walked through the door when the phone rang.
No sooner did I walk through the door than the phone rang.

Examples of no sooner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
India now plans to launch astronauts to space no sooner than 2027, shifting the goal post for the country's first human spaceflight yet again. Josh Dinner, Space.com, 8 May 2025 Like the billowing, mutating cloud behind them, the dancers keep forming group and individual shapes, no sooner glimpsed than dissolved. Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, 1 May 2025 What to Know: The conclave will start no sooner than 15 days and no later than 20 days after the pope's death. Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025 Yet no sooner had that €8.5 million ($9.69 million) move been made official than another switch was agreed. Adam Digby, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for no sooner

Cite this Entry

“No sooner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/no%20sooner. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!