at present
    adv 1: at the present moment; "goods now on sale"; "the now-
           aging dictator"; "they are now abroad"; "he is busy at
           present writing a new novel"; "it could happen any time
           now" [syn: now, at present]

Present \Pres"ent\, n. [Cf. F. pr['e]sent. See Present, a.]
   1. Present time; the time being; time in progress now, or at
      the moment contemplated; as, at this present.
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            Past and present, wound in one.       --Tennyson.
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   2. pl. (Law) Present letters or instrument, as a deed of
      conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney, or other writing;
      as in the phrase, " Know all men by these presents," that
      is, by the writing itself, " per has literas praesentes; "
      -- in this sense, rarely used in the singular.
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   3. (Gram.) A present tense, or the form of the verb denoting
      the present tense.
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   At present, at the present time; now.

   For the present, for the tine being; temporarily.

   In present, at once, without delay. [Obs.] "With them, in
      present, half his kingdom; the rest to follow at his
      death." --Milton.
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