for the nonce

English

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for the nonce

/nɒn(t)s/ UK
/nɑn(t)s/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English for þe nones, for þe nanes, a rebracketing of earlier for þen ānes (literally “for the once”).

phrase

idiomatic For the time being, for now, with the expectation that the situation may change. That will do for the nonce, but we'll need a better answer for the long term.

Translations

Every language

prep_phrase for the time being

Español	por esta vez
中文	暫且 /暂且 zànqiě, 權且 /权且 quánqiě
Português	por agora
Français	pour le moment
Deutsch	für den Augenblick, für den augenblicklichen Zweck, für den Moment, einstweilen
Italiano	per il momento
Română	deocamdată, pentru moment
Русский	пока́ что poká što, в данном случае

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Cite this

MLA

"for the nonce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/for%20the%20nonce. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

for the nonce. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/for%20the%20nonce

Chicago

"for the nonce." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/for%20the%20nonce.

BibTeX

@misc{for_the_nonce_2026,
  title = {for the nonce},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/for%20the%20nonce},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}