adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb

1. 1
   What if, lest (something problematic or unanticipated happens) Singlish, not-comparable

   "[…] the instruction all says to deep fry them, so dared not buy - sekali raw dough, how to eat?"

2. 2
   Suddenly and unexpectedly. Singlish, not-comparable

Synonyms

All synonyms

later

Example

More examples

"[…] the instruction all says to deep fry them, so dared not buy - sekali raw dough, how to eat?"

Etymology

Semantic shift from Malay sekali (“once”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.