At a stretch
Also, at one stretch . At one time, during one period. For example, Working quickly, she hoped to finish all the drawings at a stretch . In contrast to the nearly synonymous at a sitting , this idiom, first recorded in 1774, does not imply being seated while engaging in a single continuous activity. Rather, it transfers the meaning of stretch as “a continuous length” to “a continuous time period.”
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- At a sitting
At one time, during one period. For example, The cruise ship could feed about 500 passengers at a sitting, or We read the entire poem at a sitting. Since the word sitting implies just that posture, the term means “during a period when one is seated and engaged in a single continuous activity.”
- At a time
see: at one time , def. 1.
- At a word
a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and are either the smallest units susceptible of independent use or consist of two or three such units combined under certain linking conditions, as […]
- Venture
an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome, especially a risky or dangerous one: a mountain-climbing venture. a business enterprise or speculation in which something is risked in the hope of profit; a commercial or other speculation: Their newest venture allows you to order their products online. the money, ship, cargo, merchandise, or the like, […]
- At about
At approximately, as in We’ll start at about nine. This phrase, most often used with respect to time (as at about four o’clock), is sometimes criticized for being redundant. Although one of the two words sometimes can be omitted without changing the meaning—for example, About four o’clock is when most guests will arrive—in other instances […]