adv., conj., & n.
adv. 1 at the present or mentioned time. 2 immediately (I must go now). 3 by this or that time (it was now clear). 4 under the present circumstances (I cannot now agree). 5 on this further occasion (what do you want now?). 6 in the immediate past (just now). 7 (esp. in a narrative or discourse) then, next (the police now arrived; now to consider the next point). 8 (without reference to time, giving various tones to a sentence) surely, I insist, I wonder, etc. (now what do you mean by that?; oh come now!).
conj. (often foll. by that + clause) as a consequence of the fact (now that I am older; now you mention it).
n. this time; the present (should be there by now; has happened before now). as of now from or at this time. for now until a later time (goodbye for now). now and again (or then) from time to time; intermittently. now or never an expression of urgency.
[ OE nu ]