soon

Also found in: Thesaurus, Acronyms, Idioms, Wikipedia.

soon

(so͞on)

adv. soon·er, soon·est

a. In the near future; shortly: The bus should be here soon.

b. Just prior to something; shortly: The news broke soon before he resigned.

2. Without hesitation; promptly or speedily: I came as soon as possible.

3. With willingness; readily: I'd as soon leave right now.

4. Archaic Before the usual or appointed time; early.

5. Obsolete Immediately.

Idioms:

no sooner ... than

As soon as: No sooner was the frost off the ground than the work began.

sooner or later

At some time; eventually: Sooner or later you will have to face the facts.

[Middle English sone, from Old English sōna, immediately, soon.]

Usage Note: In the phrase no sooner, the word sooner is a comparative adverb, just as the word better is in the phrase no better. As such, the expression should be followed by than, not when: No sooner had she opened her book than the doorbell rang. I had no sooner left than she called.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

soon

(suːn)

adv

1. in or after a short time; in a little while; before long: the doctor will soon be here.

2. as soon as at the very moment that: she burst into tears as soon as she saw him.

3. as soon…as used to indicate that the second alternative mentioned is not preferable to the first: I'd just as soon go by train as drive.

[Old English sōna; related to Old High German sāno, Gothic suns]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

soon

(sun)

adv. -er, -est.

1. within a short period; before long: soon after dark.

2. promptly; quickly: Finish as soon as you can.

3. readily or willingly: I would as soon walk as ride.

4. Obs. immediately; at once; forthwith.

Idioms:

1. sooner or later, sometime; eventually.

2. would or had sooner, to prefer to: I would sooner not go. Compare rather (def. 7).

[before 900; Old English sōna, c. Old High German sān(o)]

soon

1. talking about the future

You use soon to say that something will happen in a short time from now.

Dinner will be ready soon.

He may very soon be leaving the team.

2. talking about the past

You use soon to say that something happened a short time after something else in the past.

The mistake was very soon corrected.

The situation soon changed.

3. position in sentence

Soon is often put at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Soon unemployment will start rising.

I will see you soon.

You can also put soon after the first auxiliary verb in a verb phrase. For example, you can say 'We will soon be home'. Don't say 'We soon will be home'.

It will soon be Christmas.

The show was soon being watched by more than 16 million viewers.

If there is no auxiliary verb, you put soon in front of the verb, unless the verb is be.

I soon forgot about our conversation.

I soon discovered that this was not true.

If the verb is be, you put soon after it.

She was soon asleep.

4. 'how soon'

You use how soon when you are asking how long it will be before something happens.

How soon do I have to make a decision?

How soon are you returning to Paris?

5. 'as soon as'

You use as soon as to say that one event happens immediately after another.

As soon as she got out of bed, the telephone stopped ringing.

As soon as we get the tickets, we'll send them to you.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adv.

soon - in the near future; "the doctor will soon be here"; "the book will appear shortly"; "she will arrive presently"; "we should have news before long"

before long, presently, shortly

soon

adverb before long, shortly, in the near future, in a minute, anon (archaic), in a short time, in a little while, any minute now, betimes (archaic), in two shakes of a lamb's tail, erelong (archaic or poetic), in a couple of shakes You'll be hearing from us very soon.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

قَرِيباًقَريبا، عَمّا قَريبمُبَكِّرامُسْتَعِد، جاهِز، عن رَغْبَةٍ

brzydřívradějizanedlouhobrzo

snarttidlighellere

bald gern gleich kaum

σύντομα

baldaŭ

dentro de poco pronto temprano ya en breve

peagivarsti

pian

bientôt incessamment prochainementtout à l’heure

uskoro

hamar

fljótlegafúslegasnemmt

presto prossimamente dopo mi indifferente...non appena

まもなく

곧

mox

tuo geriau

agridrīzdrīzāklabprātāk

curând

kmaluprezgodaj

snart

ไม่นาน

biraz sonrabirazdanseve seve erken hemen

sớm

不久宁可很快早

soon

[suːn] ADV

1. (= before long) → pronto, dentro de poco
they'll be here soon → pronto llegarán, llegarán dentro de poco
it will soon be summer → pronto llegará el verano, falta poco para que llegue el verano
soon afterwards → poco después
come back soon → vuelve pronto

2. (= early, quickly) → pronto, temprano
how soon can you be ready? → ¿cuánto tardas en prepararte?
how soon can you come? → ¿cuándo puedes venir?
Friday is too soon → el viernes es muy pronto
we got there too soon → llegamos demasiado pronto or temprano
it's too soon to tell → es demasiado pronto para saber
we were none too soon → no llegamos antes de tiempo, llegamos justo
all too soon it was over → terminó demasiado pronto
not a minute or moment too soon → ya era hora

3.
as soon as → en cuanto, tan pronto como
I'll do it as soon as I can → lo haré en cuanto pueda, lo haré tan pronto como pueda
as soon as you see her → en cuanto la veas, tan pronto como la veas
as soon as it was finished → en cuanto se terminó
as soon as possible → cuanto antes, lo antes posible, lo más pronto posible

4. (expressing preference) I would (just) as soon not go → preferiría no ir
I would (just) as soon he didn't know → preferiría que él no lo supiera
she'd marry him as soon as not → se casaría con él y tan contenta
see also sooner

AS SOON AS

• As with other time conjunctions, en cuanto and tan pronto como are used with the subjunctive if the action which follows hasn't happened yet or hadn't happened at the time of speaking:

As soon as or The moment we finish, I've got to write an editorial En cuanto terminemos or Tan pronto como terminemos, tengo que escribir un editorial As soon as I know the dates, I'll let you know En cuanto sepa or Tan pronto como sepa las fechas, te lo diré

• En cuanto and tan pronto como are used with the indicative when the action in the time clause has already taken place:

He left the podium as soon as or the moment he received his prize Se bajó del podio en cuanto recibió or tan pronto como recibió el premio

• En cuanto and tan pronto como are also used with the indicative when describing habitual actions:

As soon as any faxes arrive, they're put in a special box En cuanto llegan or Tan pronto como llegan los faxes, se guardan en una caja especial

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

soon

[ˈsuːn] adv

(= in a short time) → bientôt
It will soon be Christmas → C'est bientôt Noël.
I soon forgot about our conversation → J'ai vite oublié notre conversation.
quite soon → sous peu
very soon → très bientôt
see you soon! → à bientôt!

(= early) → tôt
too soon → trop tôt
It's too soon to talk about stopping → Il est trop tôt pour parler de s'arrêter.
It's too soon to say → Il est trop tôt pour le dire.
how soon
How soon can you come back? → Dans combien de temps pouvez-vous revenir?
How soon can you do it? → Combien de temps vous faut-il pour le faire?
as soon as → dès que
as soon as I left my room → dès que j'ai quitté ma chambre
as soon as possible → dès que possible, aussitôt que possible

(= not long) soon after → peu de temps après
soon afterwards → peu après

(expressing preference) I would just as soon ..., I'd just as soon ... → j'aimerais autant ...
I would just as soon leave now → J'aimerais autant partir maintenant.
I'd just as soon not have to make this public → J'aimerais autant ne pas avoir à rendre cela public.
I'd just as soon you put that thing away → J'aimerais autant que tu ranges ce truc.
They'd just as soon stay put → Ils aimeraient autant ne pas bouger.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

soon

adv

(= in a short time from now) → bald; (= early) → früh; (= quickly) → schnell; it will soon be Christmas → bald ist Weihnachten; soon after his death → kurz nach seinem Tode; soon afterwards → kurz or bald danach; how soon can you be ready? → wann kannst du fertig sein?; how soon would you like it back? → wann or bis wann möchtest du es wiederhaben?; we got there too soon → wir kamen zu früh an; Friday is too soon → Freitag ist zu früh; all too soon → viel zu schnell; we were none too soon → wir kamen gerade rechtzeitig; as soon as → sobald; as soon as possible → so schnell wie möglich; when can I have it? — as soon as you like → wann kann ichs kriegen? — wann du willst!; please reply soonest → bitte antworten Sie schnellstmöglich

I would just as soon not go (= prefer not to) → ich würde lieber nicht gehen; (= don’t mind) → es ist mir egal, wenn ich nicht gehe; I would (just) as soon you didn’t tell him → es wäre mir lieber, wenn du es ihm nicht erzählen würdest

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

soon

[suːn] adv

a. (before long) → presto, fra poco
come back soon! → torna presto!
soon afterwards → poco dopo
it will soon be summer → presto or fra poco sarà estate
you would soon get lost → ti perderesti subito
see you soon! → a presto!
very/quite soon → molto/abbastanza presto
he soon changed his mind → ha cambiato presto idea

b. (early) → presto
how soon can you be ready? → fra quanto tempo sarai pronto?
Friday is too soon → venerdì è troppo presto
it's too soon to tell → è troppo presto per dirlo
all too soon → fin troppo presto
we were none too soon → siamo arrivati appena in tempo
an hour too soon → con un'ora di anticipo

c. (with as) as soon as possible → prima possibile, il più presto possibile
I'll do it as soon as I can → lo farò appena posso
as soon as it was finished → appena finito

d. (expressing preference) I would as soon not go → preferirei non andarci
I would as soon he didn't know → preferirei che non lo sapesse

soon

(suːn) adverb

1. in a short time from now or from the time mentioned. They'll be here sooner than you think; I hope he arrives soon.

2. early. It's too soon to tell.

3. willingly. I would sooner stand than sit.

as soon as

(not later than the moment) when. You may have a biscuit as soon as we get home.

no sooner … than

when ... immediately. No sooner had we set off than we realized we'd left the dog behind.

sooner or later

eventually. He'll come home sooner or later, I suppose.

the sooner the better

as quickly as possible. `When shall I tell him?' `The sooner the better!'

soon

→ قَرِيباً brzy snart bald σύντομα dentro de poco pian bientôt uskoro presto まもなく 곧 spoedig snart niedługo em breve скоро snart ไม่นาน kısa zamanda sớm 很快

soon

adv. pronto, dentro de poco, en poco tiempo.

See you soon → أَراكُمْ قَريباً → Brzy na shledanou → På gensyn → Bis bald → Hasta pronto → Nähdään pian → À bientôt → Vidimo se uskoro → A presto → また近いうちに → 또 봐요 → Tot gauw → Ses snart → Do zobaczenia wkrótce → Até logo → До скорого → Vi ses snart → Görüşmek üzere → Hẹn gặp lại → 再见
As soon as possible → co nejdříve → så snart som muligt → So bald wie möglich → lo más pronto posible → Mahdollisimman pian → dès que possible → što je prije moguće → Al più presto possibile → できるだけ早く → 가능한 한 빨리 → zo snel mogelijk → så snart som mulig → Tak szybko jak to możliwe → assim que possível → Как можно скорее → så snart som möjligt → en kısa zamanda → Càng sớm càng tốt → 尽快

soon

adv pronto

References in classic literature ?

As soon as my knees were sufficiently healed I was turned into a small meadow for a month or two; no other creature was there; and though I enjoyed the liberty and the sweet grass, yet I had been so long used to society that I felt very lonely.

View in context

I opened my second innings by treating him with uncommon respect, for I knew that his little arm soon tired if he was unsuccessful, and then when he sent me loose ones I banged him to the railings.

View in context

She was soon convinced that it was not for herself she was feeling at all apprehensive or embarrassed; it was for him.

View in context

I'LL soon make you dry enough!' They all sat down at once, in a large ring, with the Mouse in the middle.

View in context

I soon wearied of its pleasures, and longed for change and adventure.

View in context

'Then,' said the man, 'go with me, and I will teach you to become the cunningest thief that ever was.' 'No,' said the other, 'that is not an honest calling, and what can one look to earn by it in the end but the gallows?' 'Oh!' said the man, 'you need not fear the gallows; for I will only teach you to steal what will be fair game: I meddle with nothing but what no one else can get or care anything about, and where no one can find you out.' So the young man agreed to follow his trade, and he soon showed himself so clever, that nothing could escape him that he had once set his mind upon.

View in context

As soon as they reached the room where the candles were lighted she looked at his face.

View in context

Your mother, I remember, whimpered and whined just in the same manner; but it was all over within twenty-four hours after we were married: Mr Blifil is a brisk young man, and will soon put an end to your squeamishness.

View in context

He has been only an hour in the house, and I have not been able to learn particulars, for he is so very low that I have not the heart to ask questions, but I hope we shall soon know all.

View in context

He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog.

View in context

As soon as I awoke I sent for the gardener and asked him if the fruit on the three trees had not ripened in the night to perfection.

View in context

Tom listened with some shame and some sorrow; but escaping as quickly as possible, could soon with cheerful selfishness reflect, firstly, that he had not been half so much in debt as some of his friends; secondly, that his father had made a most tiresome piece of work of it; and, thirdly, that the future incumbent, whoever he might be, would, in all probability, die very soon.

View in context

CITE

Site: Follow: Share:

Open / Close