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by this or that time; previously; prior to or at some specified or implied time:
When we came in, we found they had already arrived.
now; so soon; so early:
Is it noon already?
Informal. (used as an intensifier to express exasperation or impatience):
Let’s go already!
Contemporary Examples

In fact, Yemeni Jews had already begun immigration to mandate Palestine in the early 1900s.
The Mizrahi Jewish “Refugee” Problem Zachary Smith January 9, 2013

Given how much each had already invested in their candidate, what choice did they have but to believe him?
I Just Can’t Hate John Edwards Eric Alterman January 20, 2010

In case you missed it, Sen. Lindsey Graham already proposed putting U.S. boots on the ground to secure Syrian chemical weapons.
So, You Want Another War? Leslie H. Gelb March 19, 2013

The first is that it is largely a rehash of much of what we already know, or think we know, about the Obama White House.
Chuck Todd’s Lousy Obama Takedown William O’Connor November 13, 2014

For Scalia, Kennedy and his colleagues have already decided that state marriage bans are unconstitutional.
Still Two Americas for Same-Sex Couples Douglas NeJaime June 26, 2013

Historical Examples

already the middle of the body and the shoulders quivered like water on the point of boiling.
L’Assommoir Emile Zola

Perhaps you already know that Anaxagoras fell asleep in Ionia.
Philothea Lydia Maria Child

You notice by the speed of the train that we are already mounting upwards.
From Pole to Pole Sven Anders Hedin

Miss Bines and young Milbrey were already on excellent terms.
The Spenders Harry Leon Wilson

The necessity for and the advisability of spraying have already been pointed out.
Apple Growing M. C. Burritt

adverb
by or before a stated or implied time: he is already here
at a time earlier than expected: is it ten o’clock already?
adv.

c.1300, compound of all + ready (adj.); literally “fully ready.” Cf. Norwegian, Danish allerede “already.” Colloquial use in U.S. as a terminal emphatic (e.g. enough, already!) is attested from 1903, translating Yiddish shoyn, which is used in same sense. The pattern also is attested in Pennsylvania German and in South African.

adverb

Without further ado; such being the case: Let’s go already
Right now; at once: Shut up already
Very specifically; precisely: Drop dead already �Already is used chiefly for a humorous exasperated effect and to suggest Yiddish speech patterns