/ suːn; NAmE / adverb ( soon·er , soon·est )
1.
in a short time from now; a short time after sth else has happened :
We'll be home soon. / We'll soon be home.
She sold the house soon after her husband died.
I soon realized the mistake.
It soon became clear that the programme was a failure.
( informal )
See you soon !
2.
early; quickly :
How soon can you get here?
We'll deliver the goods as soon as we can.
Please send it as soon as possible .
Next Monday is the soonest we can deliver.
They arrived home sooner than expected.
The sooner we set off, the sooner we will arrive.
The note said, 'Call Bill soonest' (= as soon as possible) .
All too soon the party was over.
—see also asap
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IDIOMS
- no sooner said than done
- no sooner ... than ...
- the sooner the better
- sooner or later
- sooner rather than later
- I, etc. would sooner do sth (than sth else)
—more at any time , just adverb , say verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English sōna immediately , of West Germanic origin.