sometime

UK: /ˈsʌmtaɪm/ US: /ˈsʌmˌtaɪm/ ,(sum′tīm′)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

some•time /ˈsʌmˌtaɪm/   adv. 

1. at some indefinite time:
   arrived sometime last week.
2. at an indefinite future time:
   Come to see us sometime.

adj. [before a noun]

3. having been formerly;
   former:
   the sometime president.
4. being so only at times or to some extent:
   a sometime painter.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

some•time  (sum′tīm′), adv. 

1. at some indefinite or indeterminate point of time:
   He will arrive sometime next week.
2. at an indefinite future time:
   Come to see me sometime.
3. [Archaic.] sometimes;
   on some occasions.
4. [Archaic.] at one time;
   formerly.

adj. 

5. having been formerly;
   former:
   The diplomat was a sometime professor of history at Oxford.
6. being so only at times or to some extent:
   Traveling so much, he could never be more than a sometime husband.
7. that cannot be depended upon regarding affections or loyalties:
   He was well rid of his sometime girlfriend.

• 1250–1300; Middle English; see some, time

Usage

The adverb sometime is written as one word:
He promised to paint the garage sometime soon.
The two-word form some time means "an unspecified interval or period of time'':
It will take some time for the wounds to heal.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sometime / ˈsʌmˌtaɪm/ adverb

1. at some unspecified point of time

adjective

1. (prenominal) having been at one time; former: the sometime President

USAGE
The form sometime should not be used to refer to a fairly long period of time: he has been away for some time (not for sometime)