sooner rather than later

phrase

: without too much delay : soon
We need to fix this problem sooner rather than later.

Examples of sooner rather than later in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Americans planning to fly for the holidays may want to book sooner rather than later. — Joshua Sidorowicz, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 That’s the tent and the pole that prevents you from launching services sooner rather than later. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 17 Oct. 2026 When to Call a Professional Whole house water pressure issues are more likely to be a big deal, and Buck recommends calling a professional sooner rather than later. — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 14 Oct. 2026 Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature could be heading to Europe’s roads sooner rather than later, but German regulators are insisting on a name change. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sooner rather than later

Rhymes for sooner rather than later

See All Rhymes for sooner rather than later

Browse Nearby Words

sooner or later
sooner rather than later
Soong Ai-ling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sooner rather than later.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sooner%20rather%20than%20later. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All