ONCE UPON A TIME meaning: Traditional opening for storytelling narratives

We found 14 dictionaries that define the word once upon a time:

General (12 matching dictionaries)

once upon a time: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
once upon a time: Merriam-Webster
once upon a time: Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
once upon a time: Collins English Dictionary
once upon a time: Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
once upon a time: Wiktionary
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Once upon a time: World Wide Words
Once Upon A Time (S.H.E album): Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
once upon a time: Dictionary.com

Miscellaneous (1 matching dictionary)

once upon a time: Idioms

Slang (1 matching dictionary)

once upon a time: Urban Dictionary

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Definitions from Wiktionary (once upon a time)

▸ adverb: A long time ago; at some time in the past (a traditional beginning of children's stories, especially fairy tales).
▸ adverb: Formerly.

Opposite:

never, ever, before

Types:

fairy tale, legend, myth, fable, folk tale, parable, storybook, more...

Phrases:

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Once Upon a Time in America, Once Upon a Time in the West, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, more...

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