/ ˈɔːlweɪz; NAmE / adverb
1.
at all times; on every occasion :
There's always somebody at home in the evenings.
Always lock your car.
She always arrives at 7.30.
The children always seem to be hungry.
We're not always this busy!
2.
for a long time; since you can remember :
Pat has always loved gardening.
This is the way we've always done it.
This painting is very good—Ellie always was very good at art (= so it is not very surprising) .
Did you always want to be an actor?
3.
for all future time :
I'll always love you.
4.
if you say a person is always doing sth, or sth is always happening , you mean that they do it, or it happens, very often, and that this is annoying :
She's always criticizing me.
That phone's always ringing.
5.
can / could always ... , there's always ... used to suggest a possible course of action :
If it doesn't fit, you can always take it back.
If he can't help, there's always John.
•
IDIOMS
- as always
—more at once adverb
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : genitive case of all way , the inflection probably giving the sense at every time as opposed to at one uninterrupted time : the difference between the two is no longer distinct.