by the time
At the moment
By the time introduces a point when something has already happened or will have happened: By the time we arrived, the party was over.
It marks a deadline or threshold—when one event catches up to another: By the time you read this, I'll be gone.
The phrase emphasizes that something precedes or coincides with a reference point in time.
- finallyAt the end
- eventuallyAt a later time
- untilUp to when
- too latePast the cutoff
- too little too lateInsufficient and belated remedy
ship has sailed · already · hindsight · last · consequence · elapsed · culmination · looking back · point of no return · concluding · long story short · reflection · soon · comes around · in retrospect · countdown · meanwhile · moment