un‧til S1 W1 / ʌntɪl, ən- / 介词 , 连词

1 if something happens until a particular time, it continues and then stops at that time :

The ticket is valid until March.

He waited until she had finished speaking.

Until recently, Anna worked as a teacher in Japan.

Up until last year, they didn’t even own a car.

2 not until used to emphasize that something does not happen before a certain point in time or before something else has happened :

‘Can I go out and play now?’ ‘Not until you’ve done your homework.’

It was not until 1972 that the war finally came to an end.

Register

In everyday English, people often say till rather than until :

I’ll wait till you get back.

Grammar

In a clause beginning with until that refers to the future, use the present tense or present perfect, not ‘will’ :

I will not buy the tickets until I hear from you.

Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. until now, so far

Until now is usually used to say that a situation has just ended or changed :

Until now I had no one to tell things to (= I now have someone to tell things to ) .

Do not use until now when the situation has not changed. Use so far :

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the bombs.