Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

once-in-a-generation

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.74 in modern English

Syllables: on-ce-in-a--gen-er-a-tion
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

17

Letters

9

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Very rare; likely to happen only once in a given generation.

Example Sentences

"Trump has said that undocumented immigrants share the blame for America’s once-in-a-generation home affordability crisis, but the president-elect’s deportation plans may backfire, driving up the cost of homebuying even further."
"Asked if such a service could be put in place again, rather than buses, Mellors said: "I think the key thing is the first two weeks of January are pretty unique, in so far as the renewal of a bridge over the M6 at Penrith is very much a once-in-a-generation project."

Phrases

never event once in a blue moon once-in-a-lifetime once in a purple moon

Frequently Paired Words

never event once in a blue moon once-in-a-lifetime once in a purple moon

Questions

What does once-in-a-generation mean?: Very rare; likely to happen only once in a given generation.

How to pronounce once-in-a-generation

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “once-in-a-generation”.
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